Movie Title - The Killing, Season 1
Genre - TV Crime Drama
Rated - Unrated
Rated - Unrated
Studio - 20th Century Fox
Release Date - March 13, 2012
Running Time - 4 Discs 587 Min
Review Rating - 5 Golden Bridges
Reviewed By - MP
Comments
- - The Film - -
Season one of "The Killing" is an emotionally riveting, gripping, and thoroughly addicting television event, and is unlike any series aired on television today.
Set in Seattle and in much of the surrounding area, the show toggles simultaneously between three storylines in the wake of the horrific death of 17 year old Rosie Larsen. The pilot episode, magnificent on its own, lays the foundation for these plots to function the way they do, and in many ways it feels much more like a movie than a single television episode. Rather than immediately uncovering the body of the missing teenager (as the usual episode of "Law and Order" might do), the first episode instead slowly builds to reveal the details and clues of the search for Rosie in the same manner and time frame that the characters of the show learn about them. It's an emotional moment witnessing Rosie's mother Mitch begin to put the pieces together about her missing daughter, knowing what we the audience already know about her death, but it's made even more emotional given that we are still searching for answers just as she is. In this way, "The Killing" invites you to connect with and care about the characters of the show, and by the end of the season I felt I needed to know who killed Rosie just as much as the characters of the show did.
Helming "The Killing" as its two main characters, and driving one of the three major storylines, are Seattle Police detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder. The two are an unlikely pairing, with Sarah being a more veteran (and no doubt a more conventional) detective than Holder, who has just transferred in from another unit. Both characters are filled with emotional complexities that only through the progression of the season are revealed, and in so doing the show provides these two with the most interesting back stories of any character.
While initially acting cautiously removed from the case, Sarah eventually both by choice and by bad luck becomes unable to walk away before she's able to see it through, perhaps emulating an obsessive nature developed through past experiences. Mireille Enos plays Sarah with a tremendous amount of emotional yet controlled energy for much of the season, impressive in its own right, however she is at her best in situations that provoke her to confrontation. For me, she is the star of the show.
Holder meanwhile displays few of the characteristics of a seasoned detective, and thus initially is prone to overstep his boundaries. Aside from his inexperience, Holder brings with him a wealth of personal issues that so clearly affect his psyche, and as an actor Joel Kinnaman is able to portray his character simultaneously as a hard nosed detective and as a conflicted and guilty man. As the season progresses Sarah and Holder begin to form an unlikely alliance through the demanding nature of their work in general and the Rosie Larsen case in particular, and they are fun to watch as two contrasting yet compatible detectives.
The second of the three main storylines follows the Larsen family in the hours and days following Rosie's death. While the typical police procedural would likely normally glance over this aspect of the case, or at best dedicate a few minutes of screen time to it, "The Killing" allows the victim's family to become a major focal point of the season, and rightfully so. Mitch and Stan's overwhelming grief over the loss of their daughter thoroughly demoralizes their family, leading to unforeseen consequences that shape much of the latter half of the season.
Politics and the Seattle mayoral race make up the third of the three main storylines, one that initially seems disparate from the main plot of the season yet eventually becomes a major influence on the murder investigation. Idealistic Ivy Leaguer Darren Richmond is the challenger to shady incumbent Mayor Adams, and Richmond, like many of the other major characters, is filled with secrets and is guilt-stricken by the mysterious death of his wife. While initially resolved to maintaining his morality during the race, he begins to waiver when the stakes of the kill-or-be-killed election are raised, and as a result we see Richmond undergo perhaps the most drastic changes of any character in the season.
Overall, "The Killing" for me packs an emotional punch unlike any television series I've watched in recent memory. The case, the cast of characters, and even the Seattle mayoral race all drew me in and changed me from a causal viewer into one who felt connected and invested in the show's events. I would give this show ten stars if I could; season two can't come soon enough.
An Autopsy of the Killing - The creative process behind putting this project together from the beginning to end. Very informative.
Audio Commentary by Mireille Enos and Nicole Yorkin
Gag Reel - Very Funny
Deleted Scenes
Season one of "The Killing" is an emotionally riveting, gripping, and thoroughly addicting television event, and is unlike any series aired on television today.
Set in Seattle and in much of the surrounding area, the show toggles simultaneously between three storylines in the wake of the horrific death of 17 year old Rosie Larsen. The pilot episode, magnificent on its own, lays the foundation for these plots to function the way they do, and in many ways it feels much more like a movie than a single television episode. Rather than immediately uncovering the body of the missing teenager (as the usual episode of "Law and Order" might do), the first episode instead slowly builds to reveal the details and clues of the search for Rosie in the same manner and time frame that the characters of the show learn about them. It's an emotional moment witnessing Rosie's mother Mitch begin to put the pieces together about her missing daughter, knowing what we the audience already know about her death, but it's made even more emotional given that we are still searching for answers just as she is. In this way, "The Killing" invites you to connect with and care about the characters of the show, and by the end of the season I felt I needed to know who killed Rosie just as much as the characters of the show did.
Helming "The Killing" as its two main characters, and driving one of the three major storylines, are Seattle Police detectives Sarah Linden and Stephen Holder. The two are an unlikely pairing, with Sarah being a more veteran (and no doubt a more conventional) detective than Holder, who has just transferred in from another unit. Both characters are filled with emotional complexities that only through the progression of the season are revealed, and in so doing the show provides these two with the most interesting back stories of any character.
While initially acting cautiously removed from the case, Sarah eventually both by choice and by bad luck becomes unable to walk away before she's able to see it through, perhaps emulating an obsessive nature developed through past experiences. Mireille Enos plays Sarah with a tremendous amount of emotional yet controlled energy for much of the season, impressive in its own right, however she is at her best in situations that provoke her to confrontation. For me, she is the star of the show.
Holder meanwhile displays few of the characteristics of a seasoned detective, and thus initially is prone to overstep his boundaries. Aside from his inexperience, Holder brings with him a wealth of personal issues that so clearly affect his psyche, and as an actor Joel Kinnaman is able to portray his character simultaneously as a hard nosed detective and as a conflicted and guilty man. As the season progresses Sarah and Holder begin to form an unlikely alliance through the demanding nature of their work in general and the Rosie Larsen case in particular, and they are fun to watch as two contrasting yet compatible detectives.
The second of the three main storylines follows the Larsen family in the hours and days following Rosie's death. While the typical police procedural would likely normally glance over this aspect of the case, or at best dedicate a few minutes of screen time to it, "The Killing" allows the victim's family to become a major focal point of the season, and rightfully so. Mitch and Stan's overwhelming grief over the loss of their daughter thoroughly demoralizes their family, leading to unforeseen consequences that shape much of the latter half of the season.
Politics and the Seattle mayoral race make up the third of the three main storylines, one that initially seems disparate from the main plot of the season yet eventually becomes a major influence on the murder investigation. Idealistic Ivy Leaguer Darren Richmond is the challenger to shady incumbent Mayor Adams, and Richmond, like many of the other major characters, is filled with secrets and is guilt-stricken by the mysterious death of his wife. While initially resolved to maintaining his morality during the race, he begins to waiver when the stakes of the kill-or-be-killed election are raised, and as a result we see Richmond undergo perhaps the most drastic changes of any character in the season.
Overall, "The Killing" for me packs an emotional punch unlike any television series I've watched in recent memory. The case, the cast of characters, and even the Seattle mayoral race all drew me in and changed me from a causal viewer into one who felt connected and invested in the show's events. I would give this show ten stars if I could; season two can't come soon enough.
- - The Extras - -
An Autopsy of the Killing - The creative process behind putting this project together from the beginning to end. Very informative.
Audio Commentary by Mireille Enos and Nicole Yorkin
Gag Reel - Very Funny
Deleted Scenes
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