Wallander - Series 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Wallander - Series 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Kenneth Branagh impresses in this bleak but satisfying BBC series.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 27, 2010

I'm not interested in correctness, I'm interested in the truth.

There's nothing quite like a good mystery, except, of course, for three good mysteries. The hit BBC television show Wallander follows the life of troubled investigator Kurt Wallander (Kenneth Branagh, Hamlet) as he pieces together murder scenes while trying to maintain a balance in his ever-shifting and often-troubled personal life. Based on the series of novels by Swedish Author Henning Mankell, Wallander follows a basic Murder Mystery formula but adds in the dimension of a troubled and imperfect detective whose personal struggles sometimes interfere with his ability to do his job, though he often overcomes such obstacles through his sheer talent as an investigator and the way his cases seem always in some way to personally affect him, whether directly or about their peripheries, and thereby heightening the importance of each case in some way around his life. This second series of Wallander offers three ninety minute "episodes" that see the detective through tragedy, loss, addiction, and self-doubt, juxtaposed against a trio of pressing cases that have a community on edge and the detective struggling to solve the cases alongside his various personal problems.

He could definitely use some sun.

Wallander is a good series that occasionally reaches a level of greatness only reserved for the top-tier programs. The show's strength doesn't lie in its routine murder mystery elements -- Wallander is really nothing special in that regard -- but instead in the way it paints its picture, its attention to detail, and the raw emotions that surround the lead character not necessarily while on the case but in his life away from work, a life that invariably does become entwined with his career, for better or for worse. Although various elements of Kurt Wallander's life as portrayed in this series can border on the cliché -- he at one point resorts to popping pills, drinking, and appearing generally haggard as the result of a particularly difficult investigation gone terribly wrong -- Branagh nevertheless manages to bring an honesty and humanity to the character that's rarely found in police procedural dramas. The way he wrestles with a guilty conscience and assigns blame to everything from his tattered soul to the gun itself which he is at one point forced to use in self-defense but that nevertheless tears him to pieces on the inside is brilliantly captured by the actor in both his physical mannerisms and at a deeper level that sells the character as truly disturbed individual; Branagh captures a raw level of guilt-ridden sorrow, angst, and emotional uncertainty that defines the character to a level far beyond the generic crime-solving attributes that make up the nuts-and-bolts of the show. No doubt Wallander is a character-driven Drama more so than a middling Police Procedural, and it's the honesty of the characters and the depth of the performances far more than the basics of the plot that elevate the show to impressive heights.

Almost as critical to Wallander's success is the show's cold, bleak appearance. The flat video sheen combined with consistently overcast skies and plenty of colorless environments give the show a depressing, almost surreal appearance that accentuates the inner struggles of the lead character. Nothing in Wallander is ever right, nothing is ever pleasant, nothing is ever quite as it should be. Inner struggles are accentuated by the outer world at large, giving off the feeling of an absence of hope that seems like the perfect visual setting for a world where crude, unbelievable murders and a personal battle for the very essence of a man are the only real constants in life. Wallander also benefits from the cause-and-effect continuity of the show; actions and repercussions not only remain from show to show, but they define the series as it moves along. Kurt Wallander is painted as a fragile, uncertain man with a great gift but a difficult personal life across several fronts, and the series smartly allows him to develop with every passing action rather than reset him with every new episode. The show is so good at character development and the actors so strong at reinforcing it that the only real fault here is the shortage of programming; this is a fine show made even better by an excellent performance from Kenneth Branagh, and the more Wallander in the future, the better.

The following three episodes comprise Wallander's second series run:

Faceless Killers
Rating: 3.5/5

Wallander finds himself on the case of a murdered elderly couple. There's virtually no clues save for a uniquely-tied knot with which the wife was hanged and a single word that she uttered with her dying breath: "foreigner" -- or so Kurt is led to believe. The case seems headed nowhere, but the determined Wallander isn't about to let such a heinous crime go unpunished. Unfortunately, word leaks out to the media that someone of foreign origins may be behind the killings, pointing to an inside leak. Worse yet, a crime of retribution is committed, with an innocent foreigner gunned down in broad daylight. With the help of the elderly couple's neighbors and a lucky break that leads Wallander to finger someone involved in the second killing, the police zero in on their suspects by piecing together the original victim's checkered past and secret life his wife knew nothing about.

The Man Who Smiled
Rating: 4.5/5

Wallander has removed himself from duty and is taking personal leave time to recover from the emotional turmoil that's set in since the case of the faceless killers. He's turned to pills and drink for answers, but nevertheless finds himself sinking deeper into an inescapable depression. He's approached by an old friend, Sten Torstensson (David Sibley), to investigate his father Gustaf's (Roland Hedlund) mysterious death. Wallander initially turns him down, but ultimately returns to duty in a limited capacity and without his full mental and physical facilities in working order. No sooner does he return to the job does Sten turn up dead, too. His investigation points him towards the wealthy philanthropist Alfred Harderberg (Rupert Graves) who employed Sten's father and who, Wallander discovers, has also been targeted for death via a postcard identical to one recently delivered to Sten. With the help of Harderberg's gate security man -- a disgraced former cop named Anders Ekman (Vincent Regan) -- Wallander unravels a mystery with deadly international consequences.

The Fifth Woman
Rating: 4/5

Wallander is back on the force and ready to tackle his next case, but his personal life is in a state of flux. His ill father Povel (David Warner) is returning home, but he has little time to notice as several bodies turn up in seemingly unrelated incidents. While Wallander investigates the murder of an elderly retiree named Holger Eriksson (Howard Swinson) who filled his time birdwatching, the detective's colleague, Magnus (Tom Hiddleston), has been working the investigation of a missing flower shop proprietor named Gosta Runfeldt (Stefan Karlsson) who, in time, also turns up dead. Wallender suspects the cases may be related, and as he digs deeper into the victims' private lives he learns several dark secrets that reveal a history of abuse of women; Wallander, then, isn't shocked at the nonchalance towards news of the men's deaths by those closest to them. A third body, this one belonging to Eugen Blomberg (Fredrik Dolk), leads Wallander to suspect a vengeful female to be behind the serial killings, a woman in search of revenge for the womanizing that defined the victims' lives.

Wallander - Series 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wallander's 1080i high definition transfer faithfully replicates the series' bleak and inhospitable visuals very well. Although the video sheen removes any sense of depth about the image, it's nevertheless nicely detailed in most places, with only some distant and indistinct elements -- clumpy grasses, pasty sand -- lacking much definition and occasionally appearing downright smeary. Close-ups enjoy strong-to-exemplary detailing, particularly in Baranagh's generally disheveled and unshaven face. Clothing, too, offers nice textures, while most objects around the frame -- car interiors and exteriors, building façades, and the like -- appear sharp and nicely defined. Colors are generally muted or, as is the case much of the time, not even present on-screen. The series favors shades of gray more than bright hues, but even green grasses appear slightly desaturated by design. Blacks are rarely problematic, and ghastly pale flesh tones are reflective of the program's intended visual structure. Slight banding is occasionally evident, but there's no evidence of any other unwanted digital tinkering or compression issues. most perceived issues with the image -- the flatness, the paleness -- are reflective of the show's intended visuals and not a fault of the transfer; in that regard, this may be seen as a quality and source-accurate Blu-ray presentation from BBC.

Wallander - Series 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Wallander features a midlevel DTS-HD HR 5.1 soundtrack that's plenty aggressive but comes up short in terms of sheer clarity and realism. Bass usually plays as a bit sloppy and unrefined as several heavy blasts along the low end come up well short of the tightness and precision listeners might otherwise expect. The track handles general atmospherics rather well, though there are plenty of instances where effects seem more forced into the mix rather than naturally implemented. More aggressive sound effects such as gusting winds or passing vehicles offer plenty of volume but come up short in terms of generating a more sonically realistic experience. The score sounds crunchy and indistinct at times, too, though it does play with a fair bit of spacing across the front. Wallander's soundtrack isn't a total loss; dialogue excels across all three episodes, but the peripheral elements could use a boost in clarity. This DTS-HD HR 5.1 track gets the job done, but more discriminating listeners will be left wanting more.

Wallander - Series 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both of Wallander's special features are found on disc two. Wallander Country (480p, 15:22) takes a look at the series' exemplary visuals, its accentuation of the Swedish lanscape, the contrast between the real-world filming locales and the way they're depicted in the series, the way the locales mold the series' tone, interior set design, and the local population's reaction to the sets and shooting locales. Also included is Being Kurt Wallander (480p, 10:11), a short piece featuring Kenneth Branagh and others discussing the series' success, the relaxed atmosphere of the shoot, the importance of continuity in the cast and crew, the pressures of working on a successful and award-winning series, and the qualities of the actors and the characters they play.

Wallander - Series 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Wallander is quality television that's about as good as anything that's currently on stateside. While the series has a fairly generic feel to it at its most basic level -- there's nothing really all that new or interesting about the police procedural elements that define the show's basic plot elements -- it excels as a character study of a gifted investigator struggling through a myriad of personal problems that always seem to penetrate into his professional life. It's a great dynamic that's masterfully handled by the talented Kenneth Branagh, and combined with a superbly bleak look and several strong supporting performances -- including David Warner as Kurt's father -- Wallander suffers only from a relatively short runtime of 270 minutes in its three-episode second season. BBC's Blu-ray release of Wallander is unfortunately absent a more thorough selection of extra content, but the studio has graced the series with a strong 1080i transfer and a decent soundtrack. Recommended.