A beautiful, lonely terrain is the setting for "Wallender: Faceless Killers," in season 2 of the series starring Kenneth Branagh. Branagh, unshaven and with messy hair, is the detective who takes everything to heart rather than being detached. In this story, an elderly couple, Johannes and Maria Lovgren, is killed in a home invasion, and it looks as if they were tortured before their murders.
There's more to Johannes' life than first appears. Though the couple lived on a rundown farm, Johannes had a separate bank account out of which he withdrew a large amount of money each quarter. A neighbor tells Wallender that the man had a mistress and a child. This leads to a search for the other family. And there's a very real problem inside the police force: someone has been leaking information about the case to the press, including the guess on Wallender's part that Maria might have said "foreigner" before she died. This is obviously a hot topic and arouses threats against the migrant workers. On the personal side, Wallender is attempting to connect with his daughter, who has a new boyfriend, a Syrian. And his father's dementia is worsening.
This a gritty story, relentless in its heavy mood, and not something to watch when you have a headache. Kenneth Branagh is excellent as the world-weary Wallender, and he is supported by an excellent cast including David Warner, Jeany Spark, Arsher Ali, and Tom McCabe. The show is beautifully produced. It's not escapist entertainment, but it is compelling.
There's more to Johannes' life than first appears. Though the couple lived on a rundown farm, Johannes had a separate bank account out of which he withdrew a large amount of money each quarter. A neighbor tells Wallender that the man had a mistress and a child. This leads to a search for the other family. And there's a very real problem inside the police force: someone has been leaking information about the case to the press, including the guess on Wallender's part that Maria might have said "foreigner" before she died. This is obviously a hot topic and arouses threats against the migrant workers. On the personal side, Wallender is attempting to connect with his daughter, who has a new boyfriend, a Syrian. And his father's dementia is worsening.
This a gritty story, relentless in its heavy mood, and not something to watch when you have a headache. Kenneth Branagh is excellent as the world-weary Wallender, and he is supported by an excellent cast including David Warner, Jeany Spark, Arsher Ali, and Tom McCabe. The show is beautifully produced. It's not escapist entertainment, but it is compelling.