If you enjoyed the excellent Netflix show, ‘A Man On The Inside', starring Ted Danson of Cheers fame as a retired man deployed by a young private investigator to infiltrate an old people’s home in San Francisco, then this Finnish comedy crime caper will appeal, too.
If you want to avoid all spoilers, stop reading this article now.
Irma Lännenleimu and Siiri Kettunen are two elderly ladies at a care home in snowy Helsinki. Being residents of a certain vintage, they’re used to death – indeed, Irma’s catchphrase is “death, death, death” – but when their young cook, Tero, passes away, they’re terribly saddened by his sudden demise at the age of only 35.
At his funeral, they chat with the leader of his biker group and learn that Temo took his own life. This seems odd to them as he’d always seemed happy and engaged – not, on the face of it, an obvious suicide victim. Soon, they become suspicious that Temo’s death might be related to a series of strange happenings at the home – items going missing, medication changing, staff leaving abruptly. And so, these intrepid ladies, with their friend, Anna-Liisa, begin their own investigations, much to the disapproval of the care home’s management.
Known as Ehtoolehto in its native Finnish, ‘Sunset Grove' is based on a novel – ‘Death At Sunset Grove' – by the Finnish author Minna Lindgren. As such, the characters are three-dimensional, fully formed individuals, each with their own individuality and peculiarity. Each one is a delight.
The script is wickedly funny – often splendidly irreverent – and the acting from these more mature performers is fabulous to watch. Each of the eight episodes is only about 25 minutes long, so it’s not a major investment of your time – but it’s absolutely worth it, trust me.
Coming to our screens soon will be the adaptation of the series of Richard Osman’s books featuring his wonderful ‘Thursday Murder Club' characters. That will feature some of the biggest names in British acting, such as Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, Celia Imrie and Richard E. Grant. Undoubtedly that’ll stir up interest in this type of cosy crime television – and I really hope ‘Sunset Grove' can feed off that fervour. Having said that, it deserves to have success in its own right, without the help of any other show. It’s an absolute gem in the Walter Presents collection.
Do yourselves a favour and check-in to ‘Sunset Grove'.
Walter Presents: ‘Sunset Grove' is available as a full boxset on C4 Streaming now.
