Love and Anarchy

Love and Anarchy
Image source: Google

Ratings: 4.8/5

Duration: 8 Episodes

Language: Swedish

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Director: Lisa Langseth         

Writer: Alex Haridi, Lisa Langseth, Amanda Högberg, Antonia Pyk

Producer: Frida Asp, Pontus Edgren, Martina Håkansson, Sofia Lindberg, Fatima Varhos, Stefan Wiklund

Music: Kristian Selin Lidnes Andersen, Adam Nordén

Cinematography: Ulf Brantås

Editing: Henrik Källberg, Elin Pröjts  

Art Direction: Frida Bernhardsson, Garp Garpendal, Tilly Lande, Theo Norrthon, Adam Rönnbäck, Sara Sjögren, Therese Winberg, Sara Sjögren

Release Date: 6 November 2020

Streaming On: Netflix

Star Cast: Björn Mosten, Carla Sehn, Gizem Erdogan, Ida Engvoll  , Reine Brynolfsson, Björn Kjellman, Johannes Kuhnke, Sanna Beusang, Desirée Ehn, Fredrik Ekman, Sophia Hamberg, Gunnar Hosch, Tobias Lindqvist, Jenny Ponce, Saman Shad, Ulrika Teilus, Sean Bloch, Ruben Lopez, Elsa Agemalm Reiland, Lars Väringer, Ejke Blomberg                     

Plot: A married consultant and a young IT technician assign each other challenges that question societal norms in a flirtatious game leading to unintended consequences.

Review: Netflix’s new Swedish series is a romantic dramedy set in Stockholm. Love & Anarchy (Kärlek & Anarki), created by Lisa Langseth, who also served as head writer with Alex Haridi, is an eight-part series that offers binge worthy entertainment.

Sofie is an ambitious consultant and married mother of two children. When Sofie receives the order to restructure an old-established publishing house, her extremely orderly life begins to fall apart at the seams. She meets the young IT expert Max and begins an unexpected and daring flirtation with him. In the process, both challenge each other to do things that contradict established social norms. The harmless games soon turn into bitter seriousness as the challenges and the resulting consequences become bigger and more uncontrollable.

This romantic comedy set in the work place is very refreshing even though the general plot sounds like nothing new. Langseth has made two effective characters in Sofie and Max, aided by the sizzling chemistry between Ida Engvoll and Björn Mosten.

Behind these two main characters, are numerous sub-plots. The main one involves Sofie's workplace. The publishing house has been resisting to go digital, but now finds that they have no other choice if they don’t want their company to go out dated. This argument is established and re-established time and again between literature director Friedrich Jägerstedt (Reine Brynolfsson) and PR manager Denise Konar (Gizem Erdoan).

But the real hero is the dynamic duo: areer-ambitious consultant Sofie and young IT tech Max. The series takes its time to reveal these two characters. Both characters grow in complexity and depth with each episode.

The flirtatious, work place idea behind Love & Anarchy is intriguing and will feel like divulging into it at once.