A nearly perfect story

Nonika Singh

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When a series is titled A Nearly Normal Family, you know for sure things at play are unlikely to be normal. But then what exactly is normal family? Isn’t family a family, always a supportive one, ready to go to any extent to protect its loved ones?

At a very basic level the six-part Swedish series might remind you of our very own Drishyam where a devoted father outwits law-enforcing authorities to cover up a murder committed by his daughter. But in effect it packs more than one layer and has enough depth to make you wonder and ponder. A thriller, a social comment, a critique, a hard look at sexual violence… it’s as engaging as revealing, as gripping as illuminating.

As we follow the lives of three members of a family, father Adam (Björn Bengtsson), a priest, mother Ulrika (Lo Kauppi), a successful lawyer, and a 15-year-old daughter Stella (Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors), the drama begins on a somewhat gloomy note of a sexual assault.

And parents it seems even in advanced countries react in exactly the same way as those in developing nations do. They brush the issue under the carpet, do not report the matter, for the mother who understands the intricacies of law feels the case can’t be proven and will bring more harm to her daughter. The area of consent in sexual relationships which our own Hindi film Pink handled most emphatically with a thundering ‘a no means no,’ is certainly simmering here too. Soon, it flares into a bloody conflagration as we move in time; four year after the unsavoury incident. Things are still not hunky dory even if on the surface level they do appear to be normal. One incident has made them dysfunctional and disconnected, until more misfortune beckons.

Based on a pager turner by MT Edvardsson, the series throws open a volley of questions, while for not once losing your attention. If you think certain taboos are just restricted to India, you learn that certain emotions and problems are universal. We judge, we troll and yes, most certainly we love the same way and we protect the ones we love in the same impassioned manner. Not surprising, both the father and the mother go out of their way, crossing the lines of not just ethical behaviour but legal boundaries too. Why, the mother bends more than a rule. Saving their daughter is their prime concern. How they do it, obviously lends dramatic tension to the narrative that also includes some legalese. Each episode with sharp editing, stunning cinematography and taut direction leaves you biting your nails. Alongside we are led into the mind of Stella who is behind bars for murdering her boyfriend Christoffer Olsen (Christian Fandango Sundgren.) It’s in her conversations with her psychologist that we hear the real voice of the author and the director of the series.

Actors right from Kauppi, Björn Bengtsson, Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors and Melisa Ferhatovic playing Stella’s best friend Amina make this compelling story all so relatable and believable. Christian Fandango Sundgren too plays the charming cad as befitting his character.

Did Stella commit the murder is not so much of a question as perhaps why she did it? And can she walk away scot-free? Can she and the family which too has suffered the consequence of not addressing what happened to her four years ago find redemption? Hey wait, do they even deserve it? The finale may not be justice as the law states it, but sure is poetic justice. And which empathetic heart will not root for that.

Streaming on Netflix, watch the series to know how we are all connected and yet have different dynamics and perhaps even support system to cope when tragedy comes calling.