Midsummer Night Review: Netflix has a new Norwegian TV mini-series that promises to pull at your heartstrings and make you question life. Let us see how this series actually was in detail below.
Midsummer Night Overview
Released on Netflix, Midsummer Night is a Norwegian-language TV series co-written and directed by Per-Olav Sørensen. Per-Olav Sørensen is also famous for directing projects like Quicksand, The Half Brother, Home for Christmas, etc.
The show also features a cast of talented actors including Pernilla August, Dennis Storhøi, Amalia Holm, Dagny Backer Johnsen, Kim Falck, Christopher Wollter, etc.
This series was originally released as Midsommarnatt and the beautiful locations seen here are in Oslo Norway. It is produced by the production company The Global Ensemble Drama, which is known for other projects like Royalteen, A Storm for Christmas, Julestjerna, etc.
I have tried my best to keep the review as spoiler-free as possible, but there are certain elements that I had to mention to give proper feedback.
– Midsummer Night Review Contains Minor Spoilers –
Midsummer Night Review And Recap: A Family Drama Unfolds
Midsummer Night is a heartwarming, dramatic and mysterious series that manages to convey its message with only five episodes. Here, we see a family coming together at the parent’s house by the beach for a hearty Midsummer Night’s celebration. The hosts Carina and Johannes have been happily married for 30 years and since then have supported a large family. This year they plan to make an important announcement which is why they invited every loved one to break the news. But amidst the celebration of a traditional Swedish Midsummer in place of a Norwegian one, things get south as secrets and hidden feelings rise to the surface.
From the moment the series begins you know that even though Johannes and Carina play the picture-perfect couple, they too have troubles of their own. Yes, they are a successful pair who have faced both hardships and happiness in their life together. But being human is not that simple and certain things are meant to be broken after a period of time.
However, it’s not just the parents who are keeping secrets. The eldest daughter Hanne who has recently proposed to her boyfriend Darius at first seems like a woman in love. But it is only later that you find out how insecure and indecisive she is when she comes to face her ex-husband, whom Carina has invited to her party as well. Other than that, there is the serious and reserved younger sister, the youthful middle-aged uncle who is dating a woman 30 years his junior, Hanne’s eccentric mother-in-law and her husband, Darius’s shy older brother, Hanne’s understanding ex-husband and his mother and lastly Johannes’s mature oldest daughter from his first wife.
All of them arrive at the celebration not knowing how everyone’s life will change after this meeting and all of them will be entangled with each other in unexpected ways.
The way the series unfolds is interesting and keeps you guessing. Because you get revealed things about every character one at a time you stay with the storyline till the end. We also see many shifts in the point of view, which is a great thing as it helps you understand each character without being biased.
At its core, Midsummer Night might just be a story about a family but it also successfully portrays the peculiarity and complexity of human beings. Why do we do what we do and why do we hurt people whom we love the most? This is something that gets addressed here time and time again.
But one thing I like about this series is how nothing gets dragged too much and we do get a reconciliation pretty soon. Almost everyone gets a satisfactory ending other than a few people, who are left to move on with their fate. It’s not like something bad happens to them but it’s just that you realise how things can’t get better than what they’re already facing for those handful characters.
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Verdict
I was pleasantly surprised with this series as I did not expect it to be as intriguing. The actors do a really good job of portraying their emotions and showcasing their vulnerability. The music also gives proper assist to the storyline and even though you have known the characters only for a short time you root for them. But yes, things are predictable here, you can tell what might happen next, so the mystery part is not as strong.
If you want something short with a nice story that will keep you entertained and leave you feeling somewhat content then this is the series for you.
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