Nordic Watchlist reviews The Asset – Netflix’s slick Danish crime thriller

Danish crime thriller The Asset centres around a new intelligence service agent, Tea, who goes undercover to infiltrate the inner circle of prolific drug smuggler, Miran, who has eluded the grasp of the P.E.T. for some time. Adopting a completely new identity, Tea must befriend the criminal mastermind’s girlfriend, Ashley, to gather crucial intelligence. But as Tea gets closer to Ashley and witnesses the grim reality of her life within Miran’s controlling and criminal cobweb, doubts emerge about where her loyalties truly lie.

The Asset – The Director

The series is directed by Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm. He has previously directed episodes of Carmen Curlers, Elvira, Cry Wolf and Follow the Money as well as feature films such as Until We Fall and In Your Arms.

The Asset, Netflix – The Cast

• Tea – Clara Dessau (Baby Fever, Carmen Curlers)

• Ashley – Maria Cordsen (Darkness: Those Who Kill, Carmen Curlers)

• Miran – Afshin Firouzi (Graverne)

• Folke – Nicolas Bro (Riders of Justice, Men & Chicken)

• Yasin – Soheil Bavi (Darkland: The Return)

• Bambi – Arian Kashef (Shorta, The Chestnut Man)

The Asset Netflix Trailer

The Asset – Our Review

Samanou Acheche Sahlstrøm’s six part series opens with a profusely sweaty airline passenger, convulsing in his seat. Before the opening five minutes are over, he has confessed to smuggling cocaine in his stomach, foaming at the mouth and in agony. But this is no ordinary criminal. He’s an undercover P.E.T agent who has been unmasked and killed by those he has been investigating. It’s an intense, claustrophobic scene that sets the tone for the rest of the series.

We then cut to Folke (Nicholas Bro) looking for a replacement agent. Tea (Clara Dessau) isn’t the best at the training academy and her background story is more than a little bit messy. In fact, she’s a recovering addict who spent her childhood dodging social services. But, there’s something about her determination to succeed that see Folke cast her as his latest protegée.

Tea – who lives her life in baggy sweatshirts, a barely furnished apartment and hanging out at her addiction support group – must suddenly become Sara, an accomplished goldsmith. Her clothes become sleeker, muted; her make-up subtle; her hair coiffured perfectly. Dessau plays the duality of her role perfectly. Tea is someone who is barely holding her life together; Sara is the toast of the upper-class Danish social scene. We get a clear sense of her personal life bleeding into the professional, no matter how composed she seems to remain. It’s a solid performance that drives the series.

In contrast, Maria Cordsen’s Ashley is garish nouveau riche – all tight clothes and designer handbags. Her relationship with Sara is cautious but full of yearning; for acceptance, for friendship, for comfort. Afshin Firouzi brings a quiet menace to drugs kingpin Marin. He is someone who needs to be in control without ever getting his hands dirty, making his sudden spirals into violence even more frightening. The lead trio are all strong personalities but the writing ensures that each character has enough screen time to develop. Their uneasy dynamic only fuels the tension that permeates the series.

This is backed up by the soundtrack and score. The acid red title sequence lures you in with grimy techno. In quiet moments, rap music blasts out unexpectedly from Tea’s headphones. Whilst rumbling brass and strings keep you on edge as characters come eyeball to eyeball. But silence is equally powerful.

There’s a particularly tense scene in which Marin forces Sara to identify some gemstones that he has had smuggled in. They’re in a barely lit room, surrounded by armed goons, and you can almost hear the pulse in her neck. It feels like the longest five minutes on earth, knowing that she will have to fumble her way through costings and appraisals.

The series examines everything from addiction to domestic abuse; the poverty cycle and childhood trauma. There are plenty of twists and shocks to keep you engaged throughout the series, although it does tie up a little too neatly come episode six. However, there is an enormous cliffhanger that suggests we will see some of these characters again in a second season.

The Asset comes to Netflix on October 27.