User reviews

Don't understand the 'bad acting' comments. I've seen many Nordic/Scandi shows and I need the subtitles. Perhaps it's hard to judge properly but the voices have all the right tones and pitch for the lines I'm reading and the on screen events at the time.

If it's bad acting then all of those shows would be full of bad acting.

I did think that when the lead character was speaking English it didn't sound quite right, but that could just be because it was a second - or third - language.

This is an area of few people, few resources, old fashioned attitudes and so on. I think people are mistaking the characters and their attitudes for bad acting.

Ultimately this show is worth it. It is very slow in parts. I mean even for a Nordic drama it is slow. It does have a decent pay off, but they could have sped up the pacing some.

There are several large plot holes. If you can forgive a few glaring "no way would the police allow that" moments and the pacing you will be fine.

Really though Maja was guilty of the same thing she was blaming the local police for. So maybe she doesn't know everything?

I caught this on HBO Nordic as I dig nordic noir (this isn't noir really tho). I enjoy northern scenery and have visited north Norway a few times so why not.

The story is about a small Norwegian town, missing/dead girls and a woman who has moved aboard to study serial killer profiling and now returning to her home town to help the local police and apparently facing her own demons of the past while at it. While the town itself is small we are talking about vast spaces panning hundreds of kilometres and three countries, which makes up a subplot of local police resources on what to really investigate and put resources on.

The script is mostly strong and interesting. I was gripped and I think it's pretty convincing with details and broad strokes. It's also pretty dark story even tho it mostly happens in summer when it doesn't get dark at all. The script is not perfect either tho, but it's interesting. I did sense a bit of a feminist attitude in the script, but it's mostly just a line here and there, not pasted over whole production.

Despite the strong story, it's sad to say that the production, direction, editing and acting are strangely amateurish most of the time. The overall look of the series is very neutral, even boring and the acting is mostly quite bad in a strangely neutral and realistic way. I'm leaning to think that it's just unintentionally amateurish.

There's a low budget feel all over the production, actors use same clothes throughout the whole series, looks like everyone uses the same laptop, one scene caught my eye where a characters mouth was moving while the audio had other person speaking. And so on..

I didn't mind the slowness others have mentioned. I did mind the production values and some script decisions, but overall this was a winner because I really wanted to watch it episode after episode and finished all in four days. There's been many series with better production values which haven't held my interest even nearly as well.

I find most of the Scandinavian crime dramas and psychological thrillers to be very well acted and written; Outlier is no exception. It kept me interest in ways most American shows no longer do.

The review posted here 21 July 2021 says it all. All of the SLOW comments are probably from the point and click generation raised on rapid fire camera work and lots of blood.

The story is quite ok but the direction and editing is a disaster.

The person responsible for the sound editing probably felt the same and tried to smooth over the worst shortcomings by adding a constant background sound.

I disgust when it's not quiet for a single second, especially when the series is set far up in Lapland where the natural sounds should be enough.

A big beginners mistake!

The leading actress Maja is soooooo annoying that i really couldn't continue watching this amateurish series.

A lot of plot holes, unnecessary repetitions of criminology terms such as "soft target"...really? It sounded so rehearsed and absurd.

Bad script.

The only positive thing in this series is the beautiful landscape shots.

Once again, what an annoying character this Maja is that you truly want to slap her... just wanted to say that i love Scandinavian cinema and was hoping this one will a good one as well....what a disappointment.

I loved this because it's a departure from the predictable series out there.

The central character is not likeable throughout, which is what I believe explains some of the poor reviews on this list. (Lots mention bad acting and directing, but I disagree. Both were very well done.)

Genuine disagreeableness on the part of the central character was like a breath of fresh air for me. I prefer characters to be flawed and intriguing rather than statically heroic. Just be prepared to pay close attention as you're watching. This isn't the sort of series you can have on in the background while you're making supper.

The series is also slow-paced, but not boring. The psychological theories expressed by the central character, Maja, were technical but also interesting and kept the tension taut. The subtext that budget restrains were hampering proper policing seemed very true to life and added a layer of complexity that is often left out of more action driven series.

I didn't read any reviews before watching this series and am somewhat surprised at the level of dissatisfaction on display. Having watched the first two episodes I bingewatched the remainder in one sitting.

You're not going to get perfection in every production so my attitude is try to just enjoy them as they are.

Slow must be a generational thing. Younger audiences seem to be so used to Hollywood blockbusters and franchises rattling along at breakneck speed that anything less must be bad.

As a series I enjoyed it despite the main character being a pain much of the time - I do agree with that.

One criticism I completely disagree with is that of the music. As a (very) longtime film music fan I thought the soundtrack was excellent. It wasn't Ennio Morricone but it enhanced the production throughout and I didn't find it intrusive at all.

I was actually provoked by this show. Not only because the acting was terrible (exept from Ellea and the perp), but the script is hopeless. Full of flaws and errors, not to mention technical and professional misconceptions. It seems to me that this is written by someone who just learned about "soft targets", was triggered and then wrote a crime show despite not knowing anything about crime, psychology or human relations.

I understand the comment directed towards the police-reform and the fact that many clues and links in crime can be ignored when its more about pride than the victims. But this portrayal is too simple and characterized - unrealistic.

But what provoked me the most was the hopeless attempt at portraying a "strong independent woman". I experience Maja as just as close minded, obnoxious and hating as the men that she aims to change. She is aggressive and a horrible, and makes me question when feminism became another name for women hating men and talking about and to men the same way women have been talked about and to, and what we have been fighting for all these years.

This show is basically so bad written and performed that is makes me embarrassed to say that i have watched the whole thing.

I guess on the acting it can be a different experience if you are not a Norwegian like myself, but the story would still be poorly written and as mentioned full of errors.

Outlier has been compelling. Two stories coming together in one mid-summer, with commonalities in their disturbing events while separated by several years. It would have been easy to present the stories with the crash, dash, bash approach that we often see, but instead the producers have used a steady pace, with the slow reveal of the truth. This is as it would happen in a small rural community where everyone knows everyone, where some have been damaged by the acts of others. Recall Woman at War. The characters were great, and allowed to develop with time and with the realisation of current and past events. I liked it a lot.

The story is good and tense. Mutual relations are a little strange, but I guess that's the climate. The main actress is in the same sweater in all eight episodes, in which she even sleeps!?

The setting in northern Norway with the midnight sun is very interesting, the shots are cinematic, young Elle is portrayed well but... Vvveeeeerrrryyyyy slow paced, Main character Maja is annoying - partly because the script lets her down but I suspect that it's simply poor acting. In addition the head of the local police (Johan) is frustrating to watch and listen to. Plot holes. Constructive criticism: new lead character and reduce number of episodes from 8 to a maximum of two.

I'm easily satisfied with Norwegian noir but I had a hard time with this one. Right from the beginning, it was annoying when the main character kept explaining "soft target" - who in the world doesn't know that serial killers will pick vulnerable targets? The ending was also contrary to everything known about such predators. In the context of too many unbelievable and uneven characters, it made the whole experience really disappointing.

The actors and characters of Elle and her father were the most interesting. It humanized an otherwise stilted set of characters.

...by amateur direction and a terrible script. There's the art of pacing in directing, and, when done well, enhances the emotional pivot points in a film, the excitement, the tension, the fear, the pathos. This director had no sense of any of that and just tortured the audience with a one-size fits all pace that nearly ruined the whole story. Add to that the two-dimensional script, and it was as close as you as you can get to a bomb. Only the story saved the show and some of actors efforts. The lead actress however, never quite managed to make her character an actual human being, rather more a stereotype.

Only the story kept my interest, but not without disappointing choices by the director in handling crucial scenes, the confrontation in the woods being one of them. It was a tough watch, and the hands of a different director/scriptwriter could have been an excellent series.

It was a pretty good thriller but the background music was far too load especially during the dialogue.

This was not such a Issue for me as I need the subs but for the Fins it must have been a problem.

It should get a price for all the bad actors they hired in a crimeseries. I like scandinavian crime usually, i've seen them all. But this one was so bad that i kept watching in hope that it would be better. I got shamefull to be norwegian when I saw this 😂🙉

Maja Angell is a disruptor, a psychologist with a compelling belief in her theory about serial killers, put to the test when she returns to her home town in Norway. Such people are necessary to jolt others out of their complacency. She may also be an avenging angel. Her need to leave in the first place is still being repeated by young women of the town. This series is a fascinating examination of human psychology that may be slow at times but adds up to a satisfying whole. The acting and script are thoughtful and naturalistic which is to be expected from a Scandinavian production. Watch for newcomer Kim-Runar Klodiussen who tags along with Maja. His ability to listen to her - something not many other men are doing - reminded me of Henrik and Saga in The Bridge. Maja's storming of the sleepy town has lasting effects and a realistic outcome. I binged on this series during lockdown and it had me captivated..

Should have been reduced from 8 episodes into 6 .. or even 5. A mix of good and bad (acting, writing, directing). Some characters were almost too stupid to be believable ... but, if you think about it, that's probably an accurate assessment of real life characters as well. I think part of what kept my attention was the face/features of the protagonist ... although subjectively I suspect she's not what most people would consider beautiful. In fact, come to think of it, most of the time she just glowers. (Justifiably, however).

And predictable. It's like they didn't know how to fill the hours with enough content so they just made everything really slow instead. And several of the characters are just annoying including the lead character. I made lots of 10 seconds jump forwards the last two episodes. It just made me annoyed because it was so ridicolous.

I was enjoying this up until episode 6 which was really dour.

The final two episodes were pedestrian and the ending was really disappointing.

Could a police chief (Johan) really be so useless and ineffective at his job and still get away with it? I don't think so.

There was a huge plot hole relating to the remote building and the fire. Why did the jogger stay in the building he had only just stumbled across for so long?

Why did the police suspect "murder by fire" without any specific evidence. No mention of accelerant etc.

Why did the perpetrator burn the building? Why not dispose of the body in the same manner as he had been used to.

Maya's controlling English boyfriend was annoying and their relationship not cogent.

There was a lot of the usual profanities but no violence or graphic images at all.

The scenery stole the show.

As a norwegian I am always hopeful that something will break the bad spell that norwegian acting is suffering from, but sadly it is still stuck in a rut. It's simply hard to watch. Storyline and cinematics don't matter if the acters don't believe in their characters. I saw 2 and a half episode and got too annoyed and disappointed. The main charcter can't even take a sip of a beer and make it look natural. Throw away the acting curriculum and start over, we can't keep producing stuff like this.

At least we have the series EXIT with fantastic acting, that gives me some hope