Sofie Gråbøl rose to fame for her role in the admirable Forbrydselen 1,2 and 3. In Huset, or the House, she plays a jailer. The series highlights the problems surrounding the incarceration of people maintaining a.o. Their gang-affiliation, and tribal association. Jailers weaknesses are exploited and because the system is blind, in the end the system always wins, despite all sorts of deplorable weaknesses, as f.e. Racism.. The director of the prison is married to a deteriorating Alzheimer-patient who beats her; and her subordinate, the jailer, 'betjent' Gråbøl has a son who is a junk, and that makes her vulnerable. Relationships create weaknesses, that is the underlying message, and that goes for all characters in the series. Collagues and criminals exploit these weaknesses and hence questionable situations. The baseline is: removing hell from prison creates hell. The series raises the question if justice does exist? It highlights sexual relationships that are not okay.
Despite the fine actors this series let you believe that the difference between criminals and prison personnel is only marginal. No redeeming traits or characterfeatures, only weaknesses and helplessness, groping thru darkness in this series. But is the system really without any checks? A corrupt system will explode.. but perhaps that is in store for another series?
Despite the fine actors this series let you believe that the difference between criminals and prison personnel is only marginal. No redeeming traits or characterfeatures, only weaknesses and helplessness, groping thru darkness in this series. But is the system really without any checks? A corrupt system will explode.. but perhaps that is in store for another series?