Beck 30 - The Hospital Murders (2015)

Thanks for the memories!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fantastic!

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

THE HOSPITAL MURDERS (Sjukhusmorden) involves our heroes in a mysterious death of a hospital patient suffering from motor neurone disease (Elisabeth Nordkvist Bolme), her son with a past history of mental instability (Mårten Svedberg) and a doctor with a shady past (Johan Holmberg) who also meets a sticky end. Shot in and around a busy hospital, Stephan Apelgren's production shows how difficult it can be for police officers to investigate a case where patient confidentiality can be involved.Of more interest, perhaps, in this episode are the various subplots. Gunvald Larsson (Mikael Persbrandt) suffers from permanent headaches that affect him to such an extent that he cannot help but insult young investigator Ayda Çetin (Elmira Arıkan). Beck (Peter Haber) tries to pursue a nascent love-affair with pathologist Andrea Bergstrom (Åsa Karlin) but discovers at the end that his scruples keep getting in the way. He also has a series of exchanges with his epicurean neighbor Grannen (Ingvar Hirdwall) whose neck is enclosed in a brace, restricting his freedom of movement, but is nonetheless looking forward to the prospect of a cruise where he can look for new girlfriends. Beck also has a brief exchange in a café with daughter Inger (Rebecka Hemse) with whom he has a difficult relationship, even though the two are obviously close to one another.BECK covers some of the clichés of police drama - for example, the mixture of dedication and cynicism permeating the protagonists' lives - but nonetheless retains a certain integrity. This is chiefly due to the quality of the central performances; a shot at the end, showing the two officers sitting morosely on a park bench, then slowly moving towards one another for emotional consolation is especially memorable.

An elderly woman with a terminal condition dying in hospital wouldn't normally lead to a murder enquiry but an empty morphine syringe raises some questions and her son is adamant that his mother was murdered. He blames one doctor in particular so when that doctor is murdered he is the prime suspect in that killing. Inevitably more suspects emerge age the investigation proceeds; especially when it becomes apparent that the dead doctor had been having an affair. Away from the case Gunvald is suffering from headaches which the others suggests he gets investigated and Martin's neighbour tries to get him to join him on a singles cruise!While this wasn't the best 'Beck' story in the current batch it was still entertaining. The case is interesting and it was a refreshing twist having when it emerged that the dead woman did indeed die from her fatal condition rather than murder… common in real life but not in murder mysteries! The death of the doctor is murder and here the killer isn't obvious… the killer is more tragic than evil. The doctor's death was a little unlikely though; we are meant to believe that the hospital allows access to the roof, where the staff go for a smoke, but has no safety rails around the edge! The cast does a solid job with Mikael Persbrandt being particularly impressive as Gunvald; at times he is hilarious… his joke about the two young policemen informing a woman about her husband's death was priceless even if it was an poor taste! I was concerned that his headaches would be leading to the loss of this great character. More laughs were provided by Beck's neighbour. Overall a decent story with a good mix of mystery and humour as well as a hint of romance.