Sarah King reviews the Welsh crime drama Y Gwyll, and its bilingual counterpart Hinterland.
Y Gwyll/ Hinterland is beautiful. There is no doubt about that. With record ratings, a second series confirmed and rave reviews, the S4C/BBC crime drama can only be described as a roaring success. Having been sold to DR, the Danish network behind The Killing, before it was even filmed, this should be Welsh TV jumping out of its corner fists flying, punches thrown left, right and centre. This should be it.
All the ingredients are there. A brilliant idea, a strong script, excellent directors and actors, money and backing from two big TV networks. The result is a visual tour de force from vast, imposing landscapes to soulless, sepia interiors through mists of rain, frost and windswept mountains. A promotion campaign of epic proportions was staged and the viewer was promised raw, scary, gritty drama in the style of Scandinavian noir.
Does it live up to the hype, though?
Aside from the usual clichés of the genre, and the fact that, actually, it is not that scary, it almost does.
Shot back to back in both Welsh and English, fraternal twin versions of the series were produced. The first (Y Gwyll), all in Welsh, was shown on S4C at the end of 2013. The second (Hinterland), a ‘bi-lingual’ version, was recently shown on BBC Wales.
Taking the viewer through the four stand-alone stories that make up the first series is DCI Tom Mathias and his trio of dedicated detectives. Richard Harrington makes a handsome and brooding DCI Mathias. Newly transferred to sunny Aberystwyth from the big smoke of London following (surprise, surprise) a personal tragedy. Having risen through the ranks at a young age through sheer determination and hard work, he is an intense and committed protagonist with a good beard and very tight trousers.
His team is made up of 33 year-old DI Mared Rhys who lives at home with her parents and her emotionally distant teenage daughter. A local girl who rose through the ranks at a young age through sheer determination and hard work. Then there is the blonde one, DS Sian Owens, who gets shouted at by DI Rhys and hit on by the lonely men of Aberystwyth. She is young, pretty and rising through the ranks through sheer determination and hard work. Finally there is the guy with the glasses. DC Lloyd Ellis. We do not really know much about him, except that he is young, has glasses and will probably be rising through the ranks quickly through sheer determination and hard work. Four hard-working, determined and serious characters. Not a lot of drinking games and party hats with this bunch, but despite the obvious clichés this team really does work. Superbly acted, the team slugs its way through rain and mud in search of that ever-elusive holy grail of policing: the truth.
The natural environment plays an important role in Y Gwyll/Hinterland. Almost to the point of being a character in itself. The vast, open landscapes mirror the loneliness and isolation felt by the characters, a theme that runs throughout the series. The wide sweeping shots of long yellow grass swaying in the wind, barren trees and the coiling waves of the ocean, though enigmatic, sometimes overshadow the narrative.
It is in the interiors that we get a real feel for the characters, especially DCI Mathias. In the interrogation rooms, the blood-soaked bathrooms, the caravans and the dilapidated farm-houses, the dialogue seems more natural and the acting subtle and restrained.
The series has created a stylised version of Aberystwyth. Any semblance of Gregg’s or Tesco has been removed and a picture is painted of a lonely, time-less town. Nobody seems to laugh, least of all DCI Mathias. The series revolves around him, and his growing obsession with the cases he works on. Like any good TV detective, this is a character long overdue a sit-down with the police psychologist.
The cases, unfortunately, are what lets the series down. Yes, the series is set in Wales. Yes, it is set in the backwaters of Aberystwyth. But that does not mean sheep, land deeds and philandering university lecturers are very interesting or very scary stories. Escaped Nazis, stalkers and a suspicious, isolated community had potential, but never really took off. In an attempt to make the crimes relevant to the location the writers have ended up pastiching Wales rather than pushing it forward.
The one story with real meat on the bones is the murder of a former children’s home manager. The sadistic abuse she subjected the children to is slowly unravelled, and in one of the final scenes, it is hinted at that this is a story that will continue into the second series. Fingers crossed!
I cannot write about Y Gwyll/ Hinterland without addressing the language issue.
Having watched both versions of the series, the fact is, they are almost identical. They are not set in a different country or with different actors. No, it is the same actors saying exactly the same thing in exactly the same locations… just in two different languages. ‘But, why?’ I hear you ask. Exactly. Why? Perhaps the 80,000 people who watched Y Gwyll on S4C, and the 350,000 viewers of Hinterland on BBC One Wales cannot read subtitles? Of course they can!
Viewers tune en masse to watch subtitled shows like The Killing, The Bridge and The Returned. Why not Y Gwyll? Making the two versions just adds to the view that Welsh language TV is only for Welsh speakers, and Hinterland, unfortunately, ends up undermining Y Gwyll whichever way you look at it.
But do not worry Y Gwyll. You are still a contender. It appears it is the Welsh version that has interest abroad, and by far the majority of people who watched it on S4C had the subtitles on.
The European audience are used to subtitles, and if they like it in America they will probably just make their own.
So here’s to having a little more faith in Welsh language TV, hitting a little harder, playing a little less safe and looking forward to a second series a lot.
