Television Review | In the cutting comedy drama, a middle-class Swedish man takes out his frustrations by becoming a bully

Culture|Television review

Forty Anders from Stockholm (Mattias Nordkvist) is an almost perfect example of the average middle-class Swedish man, who lacks nothing when privileged. There is a wife, a child and a dog. It’s a nice house and there are like-minded friends to play padel with. There is also an interesting job in a speaking agency run by a hipster, who brings “inspiring” celebrities to various events, although mainly to market themselves.

But in reality, all this middle class is just a backdrop that annoys him, like the Swede Life’s spring -series (2022) already hints. Actually, Anders is a passive-aggressive prisoner of his empty life, who tries to free himself by becoming a bully for his friends.

Comedian-actor by Henrik Schyffert the general tone of the drama-comedy he directed is still aptly satirical, sometimes cutting with annoying side characters.

Six-piece Life’s spring based on having published forty books by Petter Lidbeck to the novel Vi i wool (2008). It is also the original name of the series – and for the Swedes more than a name. Vi i Villa is a traditional lifestyle magazine for single-family homes with a circulation of two million copies.

Mattias Nordkvist, who plays Anders, is excellent as a twisted character defending his teenage daughter, whose choices you can understand, but who is hard to like.

Nordkvist’s first big TV role was in SVT’s epic series Time is ours, in which he played Gustaf, the outcast firstborn of a rich restaurateur family. Just the kind of person struggling with himself like Anders, who was also frustrated with his cool life.

Spring of Life, HBO Max