The Diva Del Mar’s Unsung Heroes: Fortitude
Happy Holidays! As the colder weather sweeps across Austin, I finally had some luck finding a forgotten gem in my search for Unsung Heroes! Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I was on the hunt for something good to share with y’all and I had to power through a few clunkers before I found Fortitude.
Now, to be honest, Fortitude is a borderline Unsung Hero, because it did get good reviews when it first came out, but despite this, it has received little to no buzz since and for the most part, has been forgotten. Despite receiving decent reviews, it doesn’t seem like this incredible television experience caught fire among genre fans. This, my friends, is a crime because this television show is astonishingly good and should be a favorite for those who like crime dramas with a sci-fi/horror twist. Season 2 is coming out in 2017, and if it is as good as the first season, I would hate to see it launch with just a polite nod from critics.
Fortitude is the fictitious small town in which the series takes place. It is the northern most habitable town in the world. It is an international society with a small nuclear governing body consisting of a governor, a sheriff, and four officers. The total population is 200 people and they keep a tight community among them, living peacefully in one of the harshest environments in the world. Everyday life is based around habits of pure survival, as getting eaten by a polar bear is literally a constant threat and the freezing temperatures are dangerous for the ill equipped. This brings the people of the town closer together, due to living in a place where death can happen in the blink of an eye, a sort of tribal intimacy thrives. With this social and psychological back drop firmly in place, the series’ dominant story arc is kicked off with an incredible discovery, and then the follies of fear and of avarice set into motion some fantastic subplots that keep you glued to the show.
Thematically, this series is dark, dark, dark, despite the blinding white backdrop of the Arctic. In fact, the scenic purity of the frozen world around them, makes the bloody moments of the show seem even more unsettling. And I warn you, there are some unflinching and difficult scenes of gore, surpassed only by the jaw-clenching tension of the scenes and circumstances that precede them. This is not a show for the weak hearted, it’s harrowing, brutal and devastating. Like I said, dark, but sooooooo good!
Also, important to mention is that the series is a super slow burn for the first few episodes. To be honest, I was only half watching it at first as I screened it for my article, but scene after scene, it distracted me from my other tasks and I realized I was watching something deftly crafted. I replayed the first two episodes and from then on, it had my full attention. Each evening I was home, I turned off the lights, settled down on the couch with a glass of wine, and let myself fall into the story. I watched until I couldn’t keep my eyes open. By the last few episodes, it had turned into an intense and thrilling experience. I am over the moon that there is another season coming.
Although all the performances are wonderful, two in particular stand out as stellar. One is Stanley Tucci as DCI Morton, an intuitive and very apt investigator sent in to solve the mysterious disappearance of a man. Tucci is awesome as always, wielding a charismatic performance that steals the spotlight throughout the second act of the show. By the third act, our main man, Sherriff Dan Anderssen, played by Richard Dormer (Game of Thrones), rises to deliver an emotionally rich and intense performance. The creators of this show hold his character back for most of the season, letting other characters in the story have their moments before letting Dormer loose on the viewer. And, hot damn, does he deliver. Well, done sir!
The other main characters are nothing if not affecting. Their stories leave you shivering with trepidation and even disgust. They are presented in a starkly compelling and fascinating way, touching a raw nerve of visceral terror. The show peels back the ugliness of humanity like an onion, and doesn’t pull its punches on presenting us with the vile side of life. Even in the whitest of wildernesses, darkness rules supreme in the hearts of human nature, and nature’s brutal indifference creates a terrifying backdrop to the theater of evil. (shudder) I wish I could say more about this, but it would spoil much of the enjoyment of Fortitude. This show is about how secrets can corrupt and kill, even ancient ones that the world has forgotten. Secrets cripple our precious ability to do good for ourselves and to each other. And these characters get a first-hand lesson on the consequences of deceit, whether they are innocent or guilty. Nobody in Fortitude is safe.
Structurally, this is a small-town crime drama with a science fiction back bone. All the familiar archetypes of these stories are there to give the viewer a nice anchor. There’s the local drunk, the matronly doctor, a few cheating husbands, unknowing wives, a latchkey child, a promiscuous hot chick, a profit-seeking governor, nerdy scientists, and of course, the outside expert, brought in by a bigger agency. Oh, yeah, and a native medicine man of sorts. You get one of those too! There are a few other main characters that are left undeveloped and they’re probably going to be fodder for the next season. Much like Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, beware of growing too attached to any one character on this show. There is a good chance they might die or be revealed to be a horrible human being in the end.
I’ve mentioned the beautiful setting already, but let me stress how gorgeous the scenery is and how artistically every shot is composed. Even when filming indoors, the esthetics are perfection and indeed every moment is a portrait unto itself. Majestic and elegant, the cinematography packs a punch, making the difficult nature of the story easier to enjoy. Filmed in Iceland, the storytellers take full advantage of the environment and gift the watcher with breathtaking footage of this icy paradise. It’s truly unreal.
Currently available to stream on Amazon Prime, this bone-chilling show might set you on edge, but it is worth the journey. Watch it with a glass of mulled wine or hot tea, because you might find yourself shivering, and not just from the cold. I hope you watch this television masterpiece and tune in for season 2!
Thanks for reading,
Diva Del Mar
