As well as writing thrillers like the Detective Emilia Cruz series set in Acapulco, I love reading and watching noir thrillers set in unexpected places. When I needed down time during what became a super busy summer, I turned to the best noir shows on Netflix. These three kept me on the edge of my seat!
Two are adaptations of two of my favorite Nordic Noir authors: Jo Nesbo and Jussi Adler-Olsen. The third takes me to both England and France so I could also relive college travels!
Not only are these shows visually arresting, but the plotting is absolutely world-class and the casting is superb.
Detective Hole
Courtesy filmafinity.com via Netflix
Detective Hole captures Harry Hole (pronounced ho-LAH) exactly as I imagined him.
I love the Harry Hole books by Jo Nesbo set in Oslo. I’ve visited the city several times and can picture in my mind’s eye where the action takes place. For those who aren’t (yet) a fan, Harry is a brilliant cop whose specialty is tracking serial killers BUT he’s a self-destructive SOB who flouts rules, has a drinking/drug problem and is in love with a single mother to the point of obsession. His relationship with booze, drugs and the long-suffering woman ebbs and flows through the entire book series. You are as much riveted by the crimes he investigates as by his self-destructive tendencies.
Jo Nesbo wrote the screenplay for the Netflix series, which is based on THE DEVIL’S STAR, the 5th book in the series. A vigilante cult is scouring Oslo at the same time it is selling weapons to gangs to create an excuse for ridding the city of undesirables. Harry’s fellow cop Tom Waaler is part of it. At the same time, a serial killer is targeting women and leaving star-shaped diamonds on or near their bodies. Oh and the killer cuts off a finger, too. The killer and the gang war appear to be connected.
Early on, a female colleague is killed–ostensibly by a gang member–and Harry falls into a bottle. He’s fired, then reinstated, then fired again. Waaler, of course, is the fair-haired boy of the department. Always first on the scene. Tireless. Squeaky-clean. And he drives a Lotus.
Tobias Santelmann stars as Harry, which is brilliant casting helped along by the raspy English-language voiceover. He’s tall and lanky, just like the descriptions of the character in the book, wearing mangy band tee shirts and a stained blazer. As Waaler, Joel Kinnaman is an unforgettable combo of buff cop, solicitous peace officer, and beyond creepy killer.
Confession: I binged the last 5 episodes all in one night, something I NEVER do. There are so many details that all come together that I simply had to keep watching. The visuals deliver lots of secrets, too. Someone put lots of time and effort to not only layer the story but make sure the audience sees hints along the way.
One season, 9 episodes. The last frame gives you hope of a second season. Fingers crossed.
Department Q
By Flitcraft, Left Bank Pictures & Sony Pictures Television
I wasn’t prepared to be engrossed in this series because the setting moved from Copenhagen where the books by Jussi Adler-Olson are set, to Edinburgh. But the first season perfectly captured the drama and nail-biting suspense of the book it is based on, THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES. In a strange bid for revenge, a rising female barrister is kidnapped and held hostage in a pressure-testing tank. She has no idea who or why is holding her . . . and it goes on for years.
Edinburgh detective Carl Morck is still reeling from a shooting that killed a fellow cop and left his best friend paralyzed. Needless to say, he’s in a bad mood, which gets him put in charge of a tiny cold case unit in the police HQ basement with a pile of old file boxes. He builds a very motley team, slowly transforms the basement into something resembling a work space, and sifts through the file boxes.
The case of the missing barrister piques interest but it’s a very, very cold case.
Matthew Goode stars as Morck and gives a resounding performance. Like Tobias Santelmann in Detective Hole, he’s tall, lanky, and long-legged with a “Don’t f*** with me” chip on his shoulder who threw on clothes from the dirty laundry hamper. (Note: Goode got progressively leaner as the episodes went on, until I wanted to hit Pause and give him a sandwich.) As Akram Salim, a Syrian former policeman, Alexej Manvelov does a marvelous job creating the enigmatic character from the books who has a mysterious past and a host of unusual skills.
Department Q is another case of brilliant casting and twisting plot lines with plenty of red herrings. I really liked the way the story is a cold case, not a whodunit, and shows how tough it is to close them.
A second season is in the works and I’m there for it.
The Tunnel
The Tunnel from filmafinity.com
I’m not sure how I stumbled onto this bi-lingual French-English series, which is a wild serial killer chase that spans 2 seasons. Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy as British and French police detectives Karl Roebuck and Elise Wassermann who end up working together when the upper half of a French politician and the lower half of a British prostitute are found together at the exact midpoint of the Channel Tunnel.
Clémence Poésy is the stand-out here, as the workaholic Elise who has few social skills, lives like a monk and doesn’t care who she offends or when she needs a bath. A fantastic acting job, especially if your frame of reference for her is Fleur in the Harry Potter franchise. Dillane is great as the English detective who is a bit past his prime but dedicated to the job. BUT he’s also a womanizer who loves his wife and kids but can’t seem to help himself.
.I really liked the interplay between the French and English cops. The two develop a wary friendship, curious about their different lifestyles. They make an investigative odd couple that works very well on screen. Some of their best conversations take place when they are stuck in a car on the auto train chugging through the tunnel.
Besides the riveting serial kill plots of both seasons, you really get a sense of the engineering marvel that is the Chunnel, how much time it takes to get from England to France and the whole ecosystem that has been built to support the tunnel.
