Netflix’s campaign to add international titles to its catalog continued in late December 2021 with the addition of the brilliant Swedish series, Anxious People. It’s currently one of the most popular shows on Netflix, with fans of the six-part series enjoying the quirky crime comedy and its absorbing storyline.
The film starts by portraying a suicide witnessed by promising cop Jack when he was a young boy. Jack and his incompetent father, Jim (also a cop), find themselves in the right place to foil a bank robbery turned hostage situation. The unusual situation gets infinitely weirder when the robber asks for pizza and fireworks.
Anxious People is about random people who share a lot in common
Anxious People may surprise you at first, but we advise you to stick along for the crazy ride that ensues.
The series is based on a book by Fredrik Backman. It depicts the worst bank robbery in the history of bank robberies: The thief attempts to rob a cashless bank. The theft, obviously, fails, but before the robber escapes, Jack and Jim respond to the scene.
Panicking, the robber escapes into an open house, where they inadvertently hold people hostage. However, it’s not your usual fear-filled hostage situation inside the house: The robber allows his hostages to move around and mingle freely.
As the captives talk to each other, we start to get insights into their personal lives. These people are strangers, but they confide in each other without apprehension, discovering they share a lot in common.
Jack and Jim finally storm into the house with the help of Stockholm police. Given his incompetence, it’s difficult to understand why Jim fumes at Jack for calling reinforcements. Surprisingly, the police fail to find the bank robber.
We get further insight into the lives of the hostages as police interrogations start. Despite knowing each other for a few hours, the captives mislead the police about the identity of a character, Liv, in the open house.
The brilliant Jack eventually pieces together the inconsistencies in the stories and tracks down Liv. She deserves to be in jail, but Jack lets her go.
Anxious People is not a story about a failed bank robbery or an open house hostage situation. The film is an interrogation of the human condition and the things that make us anxious. Every character in Anxious People has issues they are dealing with – issues that find solutions after the people open up to each other.
The series tackles real-world topics, including nepotism, money, addiction, grief, and family. The chances are you will find a character in Anxious People that you relate with. You’ll also enjoy watching how the stories intertwine leading up to the show’s ending.
Furthermore, you’ll delight in figuring out why Lennart dresses in a spectacular BDSM-themed rabbit costume. Lennart never seems to escape drama or understand why he gets caught up in it.