A cold-case mystery is combined with an overwrought soap opera in this 2015 Norwegian series. The protagonist is Aksel Borgen (Nicolai Cleve Broch), a well-to-do executive at a mega-corporation in Malaysia, who has a beautiful wife, Angeline (Elaine Tan), and a surly teen son, Tim (Mathias Romano). Borgen receives a phone call from William Hansteen (Ingar Helge Gimle) in his hometown of Lifjord, asking for help in rescuing his family’s financially troubled solar company. When Borgen travels back to Norway, he is revealed to be “Aksel Nilsen,” convicted of killing his girlfriend Karine Hansteen decades earlier but released on exculpatory testimony from Tonje Sandvik (Synnøve Macody Lund), who is now the company’s primary researcher, although William’s wife Eva (Lena Endre)—the company’s CEO—remains convinced that Aksel killed her daughter. It also emerges that Aksel himself is uncertain about what he did in a drunken stupor that deadly night when he was 18 years old. As Acquitted proceeds, suspicion falls on one person after another, while corporate chicanery erupts and domestic turmoil engulfs not only Aksel, his hostile brother, and addled mother, but also Eva, William, and their son and daughter-in-law. Aksel also begins an affair with Tonje, which is interrupted by the arrival of Tim and Angeline, the latter shocked that her husband might be a murderer, while the former is smitten with Eva’s granddaughter. Acquitted grows increasingly risible as the season progresses and at best could be considered a goofy guilty pleasure. Presenting all 10 episodes from the debut season, this is an optional purchase. [Note: Acquitted: Season Two is also available.] (F. Swietek)
Acquitted: Season One
MHz, 3 discs, 449 min., in Norwegian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $39.99
Acquitted: Season One
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: