Prisoner throws you right into the melee from the very start and barely pauses to surface for air. There is no slow buildup to the action here, only a practice prison riot and a sense that all is not as it appears to be. It treats its viewers as intelligent and capable, throwing character after character on to the screen, while drip-feeding the plot in small and tantalising portions. The reward is a mature, gripping drama about the complexities of the modern-day prison system in Denmark. No, come back! If Borgen taught us anything, it’s that the Danes are impeccable at turning bureaucracy into thrilling drama. It really is gripping, I promise.
The Killing’s Sofie Gråbøl is the big name here, but she’s part of an ensemble cast, as we see a crumbling prison through the eyes of four officers who take very different approaches to the job. Gråbøl plays Miriam, who believes in doing things by the book and shows at least some compassion towards the inmates. The tie is an optional part of the uniform, but she chooses to wear it. So too does Sammi (Youssef Wayne Hvidtfeldt), whom we meet during his first ever shift. He appears to be the model recruit, explaining to the boss that he trained for the post to do some good in society.
