Netflix is offering some amazing foreign films for us to enjoy, and A Nearly Normal Family is the perfect binge series to watch, especially during a snowstorm.
A Nearly Normal Family
Directed by Per Hanefjord and based on the M.T. Edvardsson novel, A Nearly Normal Family is a dark Swedish drama that stars Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors, Bjorn Bengtsson, Lo Kauppi, Christian Fandango Sundgren, Melisa Ferhatovic and Hakan Bengtsson. There are only six episodes, but there is so much mystery and pain packed into this limited series that I was hooked from the start.
The series revolves around the story of Stella Sandells (Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors), whose mother, Ulrika (Lo Kauppi), is a high-powered attorney and her father, Adam (Bjorn Bengtsson), is a pastor. When Stella is fifteen, she goes away to a summer camp where she is raped by one of the camp counselors. After she confesses to her dad that she’d been raped, her father wants to call the police, while her mother convinces the dad to do nothing because: not enough evidence, it’s Stella’s word against the rapist, it would get too much publicity…blah, blah, blah. This decision echoes throughout the six episodes. Stella is left to feel that she is at fault, and that she must protect herself, which she does by carrying mace. Thankfully for Stella, her best friend, Amina (Melisa Ferhatovic) has her back.
Four years pass and we begin to see the cracks in the family dynamics because Ulrika is an alcoholic and is having an affair with a fellow lawyer (Hakan Bengtsson). Stella forgoes college and instead works at a bakery, and Adam is just going through the motions of being a pastor. Stella, who is now nineteen meets, falls in love with a much older man, Chris (Christian Fandango Sundgren). Six weeks later, Chris is found stabbed to death, and Stella is charged with his murder.
Conclusion
A Nearly Normal Family is one emotional rollercoaster of a series, and I guarantee that you will be hooked on the first episode. Alexandra Karlsson Tyrefors is an amazing young actress who dominates the story with just her facial expressions. The story is raw, and we are given a chance to do a character study into all the principal characters. That rape influenced the entire family, and you can’t just sweep a horror like that under the rug and not expect consequences. While Stella spends her time in prison awaiting trial, her parents do everything possible to defend their daughter. Did Stella kill Chris?
I won’t tell. You need to watch A Nearly Normal Family for yourself on Netflix. Watch it now!
