Collateral
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Recently, police drama/crime series have been increasingly adopting the Nordic Noir style of classic television series such as ‘The Bridge’ or ‘The Killings’. While some of these shows have been spectacular successes, the Netflix four-episode miniseries ‘Collateral’ offers a welcome change in culture and style.
While ‘Collateral’ revolves around a police investigation of a murder, its distinguishing features are significant.
As a four part series, it provides a beginning and an end, which can be viewed as a long movie in one evening or on a rainy day. The mini-series format also enables the story to be punchier and the plot easier to follow.
The lead character is a six month pregnant female police officer who in a previous career was a school teacher. She is a former international athlete, not autistic and is happily married to an understanding husband who is a school principal. In short, she is unlike other lead characters in police dramas. We also discover that she is compassionate, yet tough, cavalier about rules, and more than a handful for MI5. Yes the show does also involve international politics and espionage.
Depicted violence is less graphic than is currently the norm. With no dismembering or torture scenes, it makes bedtime viewing more palatable.
Also noteworthy is the brighter cinematography, quite unlike the darker, more sinister look of other current drama series. The different cheery music introducing each episode complements the lighting and the often smiling face of our main character, while contrasting with the serious and dark subject matter.
The aspect of the show that I perhaps liked the most is that culturally it is easier to identify with the behaviour of the characters – be they police officers, government security service operatives, refugees, criminals etc – than do equivalent Nordic shows.
The show’s treatment of controversial or socially divisive issues is both sensitive and realistic. For example the presentation of issues confronting a lesbian priest are treated intelligently rather than in stereotyped fashion. Similarly, the actions of a politician are presented in a complex and balanced, yet most entertaining manner.
Conscious that I may be giving away too much of the plot, I’ll close by mentioning the show’s depiction of people smuggling and the plight of refugees. The polarised community views with which we’re very familiar and the often misrepresented plight of the refugees themselves are presented and treated with sensitivity and significant insight, making that and other aspects of the series an unexpected education.
Enjoy!
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