‘The Glass Dome’ Netflix Series Review - A Crime Drama that Puts You to Sleep

I think I have lost my patience with bad films and shows. My body tries to go into sleep mode whenever I find myself getting bored. The Glass Dome is the latest offering from Netflix that hugely encouraged me to take a nap. There were moments when I just succumbed to the temptation and dozed off (the guilt made me go back to the point where I left the show, though I must confess I realized I didn't miss out on anything substantial while I was taking a nap). The thing about The Glass Dome is that there is a superior show lurking somewhere beneath this plodding crime drama. You catch a glimpse of that show in that shot where the characters, searching for a girl in the forest with flashlights, are seen from above. Or during that moment where The Glass Dome sets up an interesting ethical dilemma by providing us with information regarding Tomas's (Johan Rheborg) affair with the wife of Said (Farzad Farzaneh), whose daughter gets kidnapped (the wife, on the other hand, gets murdered, and her body is found in the bathtub). Who's in charge of the investigation? Tomas. Well, well, well... what could go wrong?

There are other interesting things that seem to be happening in the margins. The people of Granås protest against the mines. Birds keep falling from the skies. There are also neo-Nazis in the area, and the water gets severely contaminated after a while. These issues, however, don't ever influence the "main narrative." That water thing merely leads to the delivery of disposable verbal complaints from a few indistinguishable faces in the crowd. The dead birds are just tossed into the garbage bin. The protestors physically assault Said in one of the scenes, and the mining activity stokes the flames of tension in the community, but these conflicts are largely depicted with an impersonal eye. These events appear to be occurring in the background and don't click together satisfyingly. The Glass Dome uses these threads to paint a not-so-heavenly picture of Sweden, but this is one of those instances where the message sticks out like a sore thumb from the narrative. The creator, Camilla Läckberg, might just as well be holding a placard like those protestors in the series.

Watch enough mediocre productions on Netflix, and you will realize that mediocrity results from inept filmmaking. I am almost convinced that filmmakers undergo a procedure that makes them forget how to record simple scenes. After the operation is successful, they are allowed to go near the camera to shoot their project for a streaming service. What else could explain the lack of visual excitement and energy? The images look so plain, so literal-mindedly conceived, that sitting through most of these 6- or 8-episode-long series becomes mental drudgery. "Binge-watching" turns into "Bored-watching." You feel as if you are trapped in a glass dome of mediocrity.

In The Glass Dome, there is a disconnect between the staid visuals and the somewhat promising writing. The latter is a little more ambitious, but it, too, often undermines itself by walking on pathways that appear stupid. For instance, it's mind-blowingly absurd how Lejla (a passable Léonie Vincent) agrees to go on a date with a man she encounters while shopping. The meeting is set up so quickly that I almost thought I was dreaming (as mentioned, The Glass Dome made me very sleepy). The "oh, it's just a dream" trick is initially used so frequently that it almost becomes annoying. There is an obnoxious character in the series whose job is to irk the audience. His father burns his clothes at one point, and you wait for something to come out of this scene. Alas, The Glass Dome doesn't go anywhere interesting with this character and his family. You can make a superb drama from a story involving a man who feels incompetent in front of his sibling. The Glass Dome, however, reduces this emotional turbulence into a red herring. It should be noted that, unlike other shows on Netflix, The Glass Dome wants us to approach it with our own terms and own will. No "thrilling musical cues" or smash-and-grab editing techniques are applied to hijack the attention of the audience. There is also no room for "attention-grabbing" sex in the series. But this tasteful, understated mood clashes against a story that ultimately makes The Glass Dome look like other "consume and discard" shows on Netflix. The Glass Dome sits comfortably on a platform that's driven less by taste and more by an algorithm that's unadventurous and dopey. It's destined to be consumed and expelled from your body.

Final Score- [3.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times