Netflix continues to provide an array of compelling international programming. I love hearing the different languages (I would never dream of watching a foreign film dubbed in English) and exotic locales. Sweden is the setting for Netflix’s new limited series, A Nearly Normal Family.
The Sandells – Adam, a local priest, Ulrika, a local attorney, and 19-year-old daughter, Stella, are living the good life in a lovely small Swedish city (filmed in Lund, Sweden). The parents are embedded in the community, spiritually and legally, while Stella rides her bike to work at the neighborhood cafe while contemplating travel and college. Their normal family life is shattered when Stella is arrested for murder. All of a sudden, profound questions surface. Is the murder charge associated with a traumatic experience Stella suffered four years earlier? How did the parents’ actions (or inactions) at that time affect their daughter? How well do they really know her and each other?
The series shifts between the perspectives of the father, mother, and daughter and explores how far they will go to protect each other. The build up to a courtroom drama raises the uncertainties and travails associated with the legal system. How the legal process is sometimes so invasive it’s as traumatic as the situation that triggered it. And how obtaining conclusive evidence is elusive, and the decision often comes down to a “he said-she said” situation.
A Nearly Normal Family is engaging and suspenseful despite being a little predicable. At times uncomfortable and disturbing, it’s a binge-y series with accomplished actors. Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors (Stella) is a star in the making as she exhibits a full range of emotions through her facial expressions. At just six episodes, it’s worth taking a trip to Sweden for another absorbing Netflix crime drama.
D² Rating ◼◼◼◩☐
Trivia: Swedish actresses have made a lasting contribution on the big screen, including Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca), Ann Margret (Bye Bye Birdie), Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) and Rebecca Ferguson (Dune). What Swedish actress starred in silent films and sound movies, including Ninotchka and The Painted Veil? (Answer below)
Answer: Greta Garbo
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