Clark Review: Bill Skarsgård Makes Us Hostage To The Netflix Miniseries And Makes Us Suffer From Stockholm Syndrome

Starring: Bill Skarsgård, Vilhelm Blomgren, Hanna Björn

Director: Jonas Åkerlund

Streaming Platform: Netflix (click to watch)

Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Clark Review of the six-episode miniseries starring Bill Skarsgård in the role of the legendary Clark Olofsson, for whom “Stockholm Syndrome” was coined On Netflix on May 5, 2022. Six half-hour episodes make up the Clark miniseries, called to be one of Netflix’s new hits thanks to its agile and pimply style and one of the best performances by Bill Skarsgård (The Devil at All Hours) of his career.

Previous clarifications before continuing: it is a series for adults in which all kinds of crimes and disturbances of public order are openly shown, such as robberies, scams, smuggling, hilarious escapes from juvenile centers and prisons, and handling weapons, drug use, and tons of sex. The reason is that the portrait of Clark Oderth Olofsson cannot be done without taking account of the great loves of his life: his freedom, money, and women of them. Qualified as the first famous Swedish gangster, he spent much of his childhood and youth in correctional facilities and was present at the famous Norrmalmstorg robbery, events that are described to understand Stockholm Syndrome, that psychological disorder that makes victims empathize with their kidnappers and even show collaborators with them.

Clark Review: The Story

The series’ story follows the life of a man named Clark Olofsson, who became a criminal known in Sweden for using his charm to commit various crimes, as well as being a notorious liar: the production here is based on his autobiography, which brings some exaggerations that are highlighted by the production, which always makes a point of emphasizing how Clark is a very full of himself man.

The series follows Clark’s life from the beginning of his criminal career, when he, at a very young age, was able to use his charm and humor to get what he wanted in small strokes. Over the years, he started to try bigger blows, and with that, the charm was disappearing and giving way to certain desperation. One of the most notorious crimes he committed was at a bank in Stockholm, where he managed to convince the hostages to support him just using trickery. It was the origin of what we now know as Stockholm Syndrome.

Clark takes us to know the life of this man from his origins, but it is clear that the borders between reality and fiction are going to be very blurred because a warning confirms that the Swedish miniseries uses lies and truths. Discerning them is impossible because there are moments of delirium, manipulated memories from which we get several versions, and a lot of exaggeration because we are dealing with a character delighted to have met, a compulsive liar as attractive and boastful as he is untrustworthy. Without going any further, we see him already leaving the maternal womb, defining that moment as his first escape. So that from the beginning the casual, hooligan tone is defined and that dynamites political correctness making it blow up.

In this sense, it is necessary to highlight and underline the enormous talent of Bill Skarsgård to face this project: a character of such low moral character rarely wins the favor of the public five minutes after the fiction starts and it is that Its creators have hit the target: they make us hostage to its charm to make us empathize with it Nonetheless.

Clark Review And Analysis

Regarding the narrative resources, here Clark also stands out for being a melting pot of formats, recording techniques, the introduction of fake images remixed with real images, and superimpositions of all kinds. Thus, we have square and black and white images, others highly saturated with color in communion with the happiness of the protagonist, games of image textures, formats, and tremendous versatility to express different ideas physically.

There are even animation sequences where we see things that did not happen and that are remade on the fly, playing with the expectations of the viewers. This is where the talent of director and screenwriter Jonas Åkerlund comes in, having experience creating music videos from his prolific career starting in the late 1980s and polishing his skills in theater mounting. Come on, Clark is one of those festivals where there are fireworks every five minutes. It can give the false impression that we are facing a frivolous show that trivializes crime and minimizes the real consequences behind it: deaths, injuries, broken hearts, economic losses, and wasted taxes.

But the truth is that all of this is shown, including also the change in the idiosyncrasies of society as we move through the timeline. From the first blunders in the 50s, the politicization of everything in the 60s, the opening of the 70s, and the revisionism of the 80s. Clark is both a character under construction and deconstruction. We put parts of him together to try to see the whole picture, but the more he tries (as an expert manipulator that he is) to make us believe that he is on the crest of the wave and as his ego swallows him up, the better we see that he is a broken child, something that he makes fun of himself at all times.

He is tired of being asked about his childhood, but in truth that is where his traumas hide… although he is not willing to let that be what defines him, far from it. And the series ends in the only possible way: with a breaking of the fourth wall in which this unrepentant trickster is far from regretting anything.

Clark Review: The Last Words

Our advice to enjoy Clark as he deserves is to embrace his blessed madness without losing sight of the fact that in the end, it is a game of mirrors in which we will see some glimpses of reality but that much of its charm lies in its formal chaos. Netflix launches this Swedish production that is one of the most solid series in recent months: fun, exciting, very naughty, and enjoyable for those who are looking for something different and are tired of seeing products that are photocopies. Bill Skarsgård is in a state of grace: the role suits him fabulously and it is very clear that he has had a blast with the bad milk of the script and the montage.