The Investigation – Series Review [HBO Max]

THE INVESTIGATION is a true-crime series on HBO Max. The mini-series is a Danish production and based on a true story. The series focuses on the investigation to solve the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall. A tough and very realistic depiction. Read our full The Investigation series review here!

THE INVESTIGATION is a new Danish true-crime series on HBO Max. The limited series has 6 episodes and is all about the real-life investigation of the Kim Wall murder. As a Dane, I followed this case in the news every single day. You couldn’t miss hearing about it due to the grotesque nature of this murder.

This is as “true-crime” as it gets! Sure, this is fiction and not a documentary, but the focus is on showing actors playing the real people who worked on this case. All the key members of this true story have participated in creating this series which makes it a tough and very realistic depiction. In fact, it feels more real than the Night Stalker docu-series on Netflix ever did!

Continue reading our full The Investigation series review below.

Remember her name: Kim Wall

Kim Wall was a Swedish journalist who worked all over the world. She was murdered while doing an interview in Denmark – with a Danish man who would become her murderer. He was already a well-known figure in Denmark and somewhat of a mad scientist. The people of Denmark would soon learn that being a “mad scientist” wasn’t the only mad thing about him.

The murderer is not named once in this mini-series. Nor will he be in this review. This series is not about him. It’s about the investigation to secure evidence that will be able to convict the man who took the life of Kim Wall.

Also, it’s very important to note that this series was made with the acceptance and corporation of Kim Wall’s parents. They are featured quite a lot in this series since they spoke with the investigators at length. Therefore it is of great importance that they’re on-board with this series being made.

Apparently, they only requested that their real-life dog was used as the family dog in the series. And it is!

This is how it’s done!

As the story in The Investigation evolves, we follow the Copenhagen Police homicide unit, headed by Jens Møller, working to secure evidence. Now, when you watch this you will get angry and irritated. However, let me assure you that nothing is exaggerated in this series.

The police struggled to find proof because the murderer (who was apprehended immediately) kept changing this story. He would talk of an accident happening and when evidence showed that his story could not be true, he simply changed his story. It is grotesque and feels ridiculous but it is also real life.

Let me tell you straight up that the main issue with the investigation was the fact that they didn’t have the body of Kim Wall. At first anyway. And when they did find her body, it was piece by piece. Obviously, this made for the case being in the news non-stop while everyone waited for the next body part to show up.

This is also why Danish people know this case quite well; It played out before our eyes.

Watch The Investigation series on HBO Max

Obviously, there was a lot of talk about making this mini-series so soon after the events took place. That’s why it was important to have both the investigators and the family of Kim Wall on-board for the project. Tobias Lindholm is the writer and director of this series and has done a stellar job. He also wrote and directed several episodes of the Netflix true-crime series Mindhunter.

You might like: Our review of Mindhunter season 1 here >

The cast also has quite a few familiar faces thanks to Danish and Swedish actors who have worked on international projects – and popular Danish productions. As lead investigator Jens Møller, we have Søren Malling who was in the original Danish The Killing series, and the award-winning Borgen which will soon continue on Netflix.

As the parents of Kim Wall, we have Pernilla August and Rolf Lassgård. Pernilla August was Shmi Skywalker in Star Wars and Rolf Lassgård played the title role in the Academy Award-nominated feel-good movie A Man Called Ove. Which you might need to watch after this series. These two left the biggest impression on me with truly heartbreaking performances full of hope and love.

Finally, I have to mention that Pilou Asbæk from the WWII zombie horror movie Overlord and Game of Thrones is the prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen. His role isn’t the biggest, but he is ultimately the one responsible for getting a conviction and justice for Kim Wall. If you want to watch true-crime in the best-fictionalized way possible, then The Investigation is it!

The Investigation is a limited series with 6 episodes and it premieres in the US on HBO Max on February 1, 2021.

Details

Director: Tobias Lindholm
Writer: Tobias Lindholm
Stars: Søren Malling, Pilou Asbæk, Pernilla August, Rolf Lassgård, Laura Christensen, Dulfi Al-Jabouri