Fortitude
A major crime in the peaceful Arctic, but can this live up to the reputation of Scandi-Noir?
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under Reviews, Top Stories
There must be something in the chilly Scandinavian air that is directly proportional to the pace of television dramas.
‘Scandi-Noir’ has delivered us some of the most hypnotic television in years: The Killing, The Bridge, Borgen, Lilyhammer -but they’re not exactly known for their ripping pace.
The latest is an Arctic mystery that actually hails from the UK, but it too is a slow burn, where the icy backdrop seems to have slowed the momentum enough for you to admire the scenery while waiting for the next plot point. At least it works as eye candy.
Fortitude, a new series from SKY Atlantic, is an unassuming town in the Arctic (the series is filmed in Iceland) where the local governor (Sofie Gråbøl) is announcing development plans for a new eco-hotel to be built into a glacier for lovers of Northern Lights, or just lovers wanting something different.
But this town, that has never had a murder, is about to undergo a major crime.
The set-up for this is quite involved with a cluster of townsfolk introduced to us. There’s the elderly photographer (Michael Gambon) who stumbles upon a polar bear ravaging the carcass of a man; there’s the gruff local sherriff (Richard Dormer) who ominously tells him he will ‘take care of it’; there’s the scientist (Christopher Eccleston) who is presented with a potential historic archeological find and is determined to protect it; there’s his young scientist recruit (Luke Treadaway) who is new in town; there are the young parents (Jessica Raine, Nicholas Pinnock) of a boy who falls sick to a mystery illness, and one of whom is having an affair; and more.
But worlds unravel when a man is found attacked in his home. Enter a British detective (Stanley Tucci) summoned to solve a crime, but ruffling plenty of feathers along the way.
The setting and the cast are the best of Fortitude, with former Killing star Sofie Gråbøl now out of her jumper and with a more forthright character. Finding likeable characters is a bit of a challenge too, although Jessica Raine (pictured) as a young mother with a son hanging by a thread is hard to ignore.
Stanley Tucci plays the ex-FBI agent turned London detective, who arrives in the second episode but finds himself at odds with the local constabulary. None of which fazes him. But there are questions about how much he already knows about the crime.
The sum of the parts falls just short of this being comparable to other Scandi-dramas. Sure it’s great to have a top-notch cast and the exterior shots of glaciers, mountains, wildlife and even a dash of nudity, but it’s important to also care about the individuals and relationships.
So far Fortitude may leave one a little bit too cool.
Fortitude airs 9:20pm Sunday on ABC.
- Tagged with Borgen, Fortitude, Lilyhammer, The Bridge, The Killing
9 Responses
I thought it was pretty good too and may have given it a miss had it not been for Sofie GrÃ¥bøl and Stanley Tucci (who sadly didn’t appear)….so will probably watch next week. With Broadchurch preceding it, it made for a fairly intense couple of hours’ viewing.
Ok, I’m off the fence. Thought it was pretty good. Pacing was perfect for what it is.
Hmmmmm. Interesting review there David in particular the last paragraph. I will watch the first episode and see if it grips me.
Broadchurch season two is really good so hopefully this is also engaging
After watching the 1st episode, the review is fairly spot on. I actually liked the pacing (which was a criticism on other reviews I saw), as well as the “this could lead to anything” feel of it all. With Tucci’s character yet to enter the equation, more & more things could still occur, which will bring me back next week.
And to top it off, the opening theme introduced me to the intriguing Swedish duo that is Wildbirds & Peacedrums.
This is dark ,shot with low light camera in the murky atmosphere of Iceland .Probably not going to be that good on the ABCs low def SD channels. I read a couple of the actors mumble their lines making it hard to follow. Good reviews in the UK papers.
Have you tried using Closed Captions.? Makes a big difference.
DaveyBoy, is there room on that fence for another? I think I’ll prob feel the same about this as I did the first Broadchurch. Decent enough but some things not quite right. It seems pretty similar to Broadchurch so the pairing makes sense altho’ I wonder whether it’ll end up being too much gloomy slow-burn in one sitting?
Really on the fence about this one, so this review keeps me there. The fact that it’s after Broadchurch probably means I’ll give it 2 weeks and then go from there. I notice that it’s a 12 episode season, which sounds like it may be 2-4 too long.
Apparently it’s supposed to be occurring in Norway-why the Tucci character (ex FBI in the London Met?) would be there is a puzzling question.