The Breakthrough Review
Director: Lisa Siwe
Date Created: 2025-01-07 21:43
3.5
The Breakthrough Review: Netflix Swedish crime drama is directed by Lisa Siwe, it is a gripping adaptation of Anna Bodin and Peter Sjölund’s investigative book Genombrottet: Så löste släktforskaren dubbelmordet i Linköping. Telling this chilling true story using groundbreaking genealogy techniques, this four-part series stars Peter Eggers, Mattias Nordkvist, Jessica Liedberg and Julia Sporre. It has 40 minutes per episode, and the series makes for a tightly woven narrative that tantalises with suspense, pushes emotional depth and clever crime-solving. This is why crime fans need to check out this miniseries.
The Breakthrough Review
Presented under the original title Genombrottet, Netflix’s The Breakthrough is a Swedish crime drama that dives into one of Sweden’s most complex and unsolved murder cases, but with substance significantly beyond the ordinary true crime narrative—positively engrossing. The miniseries explores forensic breakthroughs in innovative storytelling that goes beyond the relentless hunt for justice and touches your soul with the ethical, technological, and human fight for survival.
But the story we are presented brings to the stage the infamous 2004 Linköping murders, where a woman in her 50s and an 8-year-old boy perished. It was more than 16 years before her case was solved and it haunted her victims’ families and investigators. Modern genealogy is a brand new and powerful investigative tool, and for once it helped crack the case.
The cast is excellent, especially Peter Eggers as Detective John, a man whose personal obsession leads to great personal cost too. Into this sweetly combining mix arrives Mattias Nordkvist as a welcome counterpoint in his portrayal of Per, a meticulous, slightly reserved expert genealogist, who leads the crucial first DNA tracing wave. The chemistry between them is a microcosm of old-school detective work and modern science, something that runs through this series.
The Breakthrough, however, is different because it’s about authenticity. The series keeps things low-key, focusing on the laborious, often painful, work of solving a case. The cinematography matches with this realism, muted hues and unafraid standpoint of small, methodical actions that can lead to a breakthrough. But the emotional weight of the case is clear as the series weighs in on the victims’ families’ grief and the draining of their investigators.
Although great at its dedication to procedural detail, this may just be too slow a pace for those who are looking for a faster-paced crime drama. But this slower tempo serves a purpose: It reflects the real life of investigative work as well as gives the audience the whole sense of how huge breakthroughs are.
The crime narrative is as absorbing as you’d expect, but it also goes beyond to consider more general themes of justice, morality and what the ethical uses of advanced technology might be in crime investigations. The ethical questions are: What does privacy mean anymore; what are the bounds of science and at what point does society step over that line in the pursuit of justice?
Summing Up
The Breakthrough is not just another true crime series, but rather a thoughtful look at his odd human propensity to solve seemingly inscrutable mysteries with courage and foolhardy scientific innovation. The traditional approach is outdated, and in this series, science has moved past it and applied it innovatively, to solve a homicide. Its pacing won’t make everyone a fan, but that’s a series that will reward viewers willing to go deep, be real and connected.
If you’re anything like me and want your crime drama to go a little deeper, The Breakthrough comes highly recommended. A demonstration of the strength of determination and a powerful demonstration that even the coldest of cases can be closed if the right abilities and doggedness are available.
Swedish crime drama The Breakthrough is now available on Netflix.
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