13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Promising--Faithful to Danish Original Version, April 4, 2011
This review is from: The Killing Season 1 (Amazon Instant Video)
update: I did not keep watching this series because it was identical to the Danish one, almost frame for frame. Imagine my surprise then to hear that viewers were in an uproar when it finished this week because there is a cliffhanger instead of a resolution plus (evidently) the murderer in the American version is not going to be the same person as in the Danish original. I was amazed because the Danish one could not have ended in a more clear cut and logical fashion. The murder was solved. The murderer was someone quite logical and a "person of interest" throughout to the investigators. My recommendation is now to go find the Danish one, which is excellent. It is too bad that the Americans didn't just keep reproducing it frame for frame, the way they started out.
This is an American remake of a Danish tv series of the same name. I have seen the entire Danish tv series. This is a very faithful and well done recreation of the series yet changes it to English language and Seattle rather than Copenhagen. There are some fairly minor differences so far between the two scripts. For example, the lead detective, a woman, has a real battleaxe of a mother staying with her in the Danish version as she's getting ready for her second marriage in three weeks time. She has been eliminated in the American version but she is the only character to be eliminated. Since I found the mother very annoying, I don't see that as a flaw. Some other slight differences: her underling male detective in the American version is not hostile to her like he is in the Danish one. In fact, they seem to get along; the male politician in Copenhagen is a lot more complex character than he is in Seattle but that may be because Copenhagen politics are downright baffling. Otherwise we are pretty much right on point scene for scene right down to the music for the show. My original review follows.
The action for the two detectives is discovering a 17 year old girl who has been murdered. She was discovered in the trunk of a car in a lake. She was put in the trunk alive and took about ten minutes to die once underwater. The detectives are up close and personal with the family and the family goes completely to pieces (in both versions). The car was owned by the male politician's political campaign and it was he and his workers who used that car. The girl was supposedly with a female classmate for the last three days but it turns out that she hadn't been. No one knows where she was after the school Halloween dance. The first suspect interviewed is her last boyfriend, a spoiled rich kid The detectives will continue combing through everyone and everything. The quiet doggedness of the woman detective is what really stands out in the series and she is in almost every frame of the show.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Savvy And Smart Mystery For Adults--Reminiscent Of "Twin Peaks" Minus The Extravagant Quirkiness, May 20, 2011
This review is from: The Killing Season 1 (Amazon Instant Video)
AMC, having established itself a leader in smart and sophisticated counter-programming (Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Rubicon), serves up another winner with "The Killing"--an adaptation of a successful Danish television series. I, personally, look at the show as the thematic cousin to "Twin Peaks" albeit with a completely different tone and vibe. Both shows center around the murder of a girl, both even feature the tagline "Who Killed.....(Rosie Larsen and Laura Palmer, respectively)," and both chart three similar storylines. We see the investigation progress, we see the painful aftermath on the girl's family and friends, and we see how the murder may be tied to local politicians and bigwigs. That, of course, is where the similarities cease. "The Killing" is a deadly serious and contemplative drama set in Seattle--not at all encumbered with the quirky eccentricities that defined that other Washington State township. It is an intense and quiet show with a slow build--those eager for easy answers and constant action may need to look elsewhere. The pace of "The Killing" is more akin to the unraveling of a fine novel.
Through successive episodes, the path to identifying the murderer becomes increasingly muddy. Steely and determined Mireille Enos play the intrepid lead investigator haunted by past mistakes. She is unable to move on with her own life and, in fact, sacrifices potential happiness in her dogged pursuit of justice. Her replacement (only he can't replace her when she won't leave!) is the offbeat Joel Kinnaman. Both humorous and strangely intense, the two forge an uneasy relationship that provides a lot of conflict, drama, and unexpected laughs. On another front, the always terrific Michelle Forbes and Brendan Sexton III play the deceased girl's parents. Forbes is magnetic going through the stages of grief and Sexton is a powder keg of repressed emotion. And lastly, there is the political component that weaves around the central mystery in surprising ways. Billy Campbell plays a mayoral candidate whose closeness to the investigation causes some major issues on the campaign trail.
Of course, this brief synopsis really does no justice to the intricacies of the actual story--but serves as a simple introduction. Every episode is structured as one day in the investigation, but the show really does a fine job balancing the three concurrent plot components. Well written and intelligent, the show is not your typical police procedural. This one relies on in-depth characterizations and complex plotting. Again, if you are looking for light hearted or breezy fare--this would not be it. This requires and rewards patience and attention--and that's something I appreciate in the land of formulaic television.
Check this out as a slow burn mystery. I especially recommend it for the performances. While everyone is quite good, I have to single out Forbes and Sexton. Forbes puts it all onto the line in raw naked emotion--I can't think of a recent TV performance quite so harrowing. And Sexton is more understated, complex, and internal--but no less effective or believable. Great job to them. An intriguing show for adults, if that sounds like a recommendation--it certainly is. KGHarris, 5/11.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
had potential, July 29, 2011
This review is from: The Killing Season 1 (Amazon Instant Video)
The first three episodes had be absolutely hooked. Then there were umpteen red herrings, watching the family grieve got to the point of misery porn and it just became to much. The last episode was so terrible I have no reason or desire to care about a second season. If only it had stayed more true to the Danish version which was far better.
There were some fantastic episodes, but the lukewarm/terrible/far-fetched episodes outweighed the good. Watch the Danish version if you really want to see some fantastic tv. The American version started off so well and the potential looked phenomenally good. Too bad they wasted it. Generous 3 stars.
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