Danish Show Gets MidLife, Relationships, & Murders Right (The Sommerdahl Murders REVIEW)

You think you’ve got problems? Well, imagine you’re celebrating (what you thought was) 25 years of wedded bliss, when your partner turns around and tells you that not only are they no longer "feeling it”, but that they haven’t been, for a very long time. So much so, in fact, that they want a divorce.

Ouch.

Now, put yourself in the partner's shoes. Giving up all of your dreams and aspirations at a young age, to get married and have a child with someone you loved... only to wind up feeling completely sidelined by your spouse's greater dedication to work than to your relationship. Years of canceled-last-second, or entirely forgotten, plans. 

Again, ouch.

Or, consider being the third wheel to all of this, for decades. Best friend to one, and long-ago ex to the other, you love and care about both of them, deeply... but in very (very) different ways.

Oh, and did I forget to mention? All of you work closely together, solving murders in a bucolic coastal city.

This triangle is at the core of the completely-engrossing Danish series, The Sommerdahl Murders (streaming on Acorn TV, which is also available as an add-on subscription through Amazon Prime).

Aside from that, it's a standard (but solid) set of murder mysteries--four per season, each told over the span of two episodes. 

Not that these are the boiler-plate murder-mysteries which comprise most of American TV. Thankfully, they lack the insane gloss that pretty much every U.S. detective show must have, instead choosing to focus as much on the mundane lives and relationships of those solving them, as on "the job". [But that sounds boring, you say? Never fear; there's nothing "boring" about what these folks are going through.] 

Dan Sommerdahl—mid-fifties, ruggedly handsome, and really good at his job (heading the murder squad of a small police force in the gorgeous coastal town of Elsinore, Denmark)—is the eponymous detective driving the series, and through whose eyes we see a good portion of the action. He's smart, and a good leader for the murder squad. 

But Dan is only one-third of the trifecta. We also see everything through his wife (soon-to-be ex-wife), Marianne’s eyes, in her role as head of the police forensics team. Finally, we get Dan’s best friend (and detective partner) Flemming’s viewpoint and insights. (In addition, there's a solid supporting cast of characters at the police station.)  In other words? It takes a village… or at the very least, a small city, here, for these people work side by side, and—despite whatever personal hells they may be going through, separately or together—have no choice but to remain professional, and do their jobs… which they do. 

There are many reasons to watch The Sommerdahl Murders (or, just Sommerdahl, as it’s known in Scandinavia). Foremost, though, is the work of the actors, all of whom are superb, giving wonderfully-nuanced performances as (predominantly) mid-life people, trying to make their way through the complexities of living said lives. Peter Mygind (as Dan) convincingly goes from confused, shocked, and hurt, to furious, within the space of a moment. André Babikian hovers on some annoying/tragic/sexy (but always, palpably-emotional) plane of existence as best friend/partner (and, surprisingly, sensitive and keenly-observant artist), Flemming Torp. And Laura Drasbæk, as caught-in-the-middle-of-everything wife/ex-wife/ex-girlfriend, Marianne, is incredibly, painfully, beautifully real, in her rawness. [As far as I’m concerned, hers is one of the best, most-realistic, mid-life female characters currently on TV, anywhere… and she portrays the complexities of a professional in her situation, brilliantly.] 

Another key aspect (with any show/movie, really) is the setting, and the directors and DPs allow coastal Denmark to absolutely shine, in The Sommerdahl Murders. Everything is beautiful, and lush, and the water is RIGHT THERE, all the time. [I’m seriously ready to re-schedule my previously, ignominiously-canceled trip to Sweden and Denmark, RIGHT NOW.] 

_______________ 

I won’t say that the mysteries aren’t reason enough to give this one a watch, because they absolutely are. (They start off well enough, but get progressively stronger as the show continues.) So let me say this: if you watch the first two episodes—and really, you need to give this one two eps to get a real feel for all of the personalities, the situation, the locale, and their world—then it’s almost a guarantee [provided this genre is your bag, which—if you’re still reading—is, itself, a reasonable bet]—that you’ll be hooked. 

A compelling, realistic look at basically “ordinary”, mid-life people (and their friends, families, and coworkers), going about their day-to-day lives, in a beautiful setting, as portrayed by talented actors (who genuinely “get” those characters and situations)? The Sommerdahl Murders is that, in spades. And somehow, it’s even more. I highly recommend this one. 

~GlamKitty 

[As of 2022, there are three, eight-episode seasons of The Sommerdahl Murders, which makes for either a great, multi-night binge, or a more-leisurely enjoyed watch. Either way, it’s a must.]