Nobel's Last Will (2012)

Fresh and Exciting

A Masterpiece!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Well so far what I have garnered from the other reviews of this series is that the previous critics are hard to please. I'd like to see just one of them come up with a story as compelling as this one. I think it advisable to remember: this is a Suspense Novel on Film ....not a Steven Spielberg Classic! The plot line was excellent, the acting superlative, photography crisp; editing spot on and with Stockholm as a backdrop, this is a winner of a production.And apparent newcomer Malin Crepin is a credible breath of fresh air. I found her delightful to watch and her character studied and believable!Let's try to remember people......this is entertainment......not rocket science! Creativity, new places and fresh talent never gets tired!

All six episodes are running on Netflix as a series: Annika Bengtzon, Crime Reporter. Annika Bengtzon is a crime reporter who is either at the right place at the right time or manages to work herself into the crimes she is reporting on. While not a detective, her reporting manages to solve the crimes she is investigating. Sort of a young Jessica Fletcher with baggage: two kids, a philandering boyfriend/husband, and rivals on the paper. The stories are well written, acted, and have high production vales but you need to read the subtitles as all dialogue is in Swedish. There are moments that stretch credulity at times as she places herself in risky situations without back up. Nobel's Last Will is, I believe, the first in the series so it makes for a good starting point. Always amazed her IPhone never seems to have a dead battery.

Yet another Nordic noir series, this time centring on a female, mother-of-two newspaper reporter who in this first character and scene-setting episode just happens to find herself Jilly-on-the-spot as witness to a cold blooded murder at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm. Based on a series of crime novels based on this character which I've not read, this was an entertaining enough story, even if it seemed obvious at times that the story was abridged to fit the 90 minute TV framework.The concept of course is a bit old-fashioned too (are there really still crime reporters out there risking life and limb to get their stories?) and the handling of the material noticeably lighter than say, the Stiegg Larsson trilogy or "The Bridge", the story rattling along, plot holes and all, with the usual diversions to develop back-stories for the lead character, unsurprisingly concerning her two young children and to a lesser extent her boyfriend. Malin Crepin, looking like a young Meg Ryan, carries the lead part well, even if at this stage, her character doesn't posses a lot of depth.Stylishly shot in that wonderful natural daylight style common to all the recent contemporary Scandinavian series around and making the almost clichéd use of the panoramic, establishing, on-high city scape shots to kick-start scenes and capably acted by all the actors, while a number of settings and situations are reminiscent of the other series mentioned before, for all its lack of originality, this first episode proved entertaining and just about exciting enough to entice me back for future programmes in the series.

In Stockholm, it's icy cold outside, while inside, a people-filled Nobel Banquet's warm air is punctuated by two 'poof' sounds that come from a silencer of a stealth assassin. A crime reporter, Annika Bengtzon, unwittingly becomes part of the news herself after witnessing the murder up close. And that's just the beginning. 'Nobel's Last Will' is a nicely paced thriller from beginning to end. Although the film was produced by Yellow Bird Productions, the same people behind Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, 'Last Will' is not as gritty, but very slick. The production look is almost sterile, which must be intentional, since it's largely based around scientists who work in pristine cell research labs. Even the offices of the tabloid Kvällspressen, where reporter Bengtzon works, is squeaky clean. Still, this is a Swedish film that has a lot going for it. Based on the best selling novel by Swedish author, Lisa Marklunds, it's well cast. The assassin is as icy as the frozen Lake Mälaren in Stockholm. And, especially Malin Crépin, playing the lead character, is a warm, determined, and smart woman as we follow her both at work, and at home with her family. It's refreshing to watch a crime-thriller with a distinctly Swedish touch, not only visually, but also with the right amount of suspense and humanity.