Dept Q ****

While it leans into familiar genre tropes of brooding detectives, fog-draped landscapes, and buried secrets, the execution is razor-sharp, creating a mood that feels more comforting in its atmosphere than derivative.

From its opening moments, this is prestige crime drama at its finest: deliberate, tense, and unafraid of moral complexity.

At the heart of the film is Matthew Goode (The Imitation Game, Stoker), delivering one of his most commanding performances as Detective Carl Mørck.

Haunted by a failed case that still shadows his every move, Mørck is brittle yet magnetic, a man driven by an obsessive need for justice despite the personal cost. Goode brings a quiet intensity and wounded vulnerability to the role, grounding the story with a human core that keeps you invested even when the investigation grows darker.

The plot follows Mørck and his newly assigned partner Assad (played with understated strength by Faraz Ayub) as they reopen a long-cold case involving the mysterious disappearance of a young woman.

What begins as a routine review spirals into a web of political cover-ups, hidden abuse, and dangerous truths that powerful figures would rather keep buried. Supporting turns from Kelly Macdonald (Trainspotting, Boardwalk Empire) as a key witness and Peter Mullan (Top of the Lake) as a shadowy government official add gravitas and texture, each character revealing a fragment of the larger mystery without overshadowing Goode’s magnetic presence.

With its moody cinematography, deliberately paced revelations, and a creeping sense of unease, Dept Q captures the essence of Scandi Noir while carving its own identity in the rugged Scottish setting.

The result is a gripping, atmospheric thriller that feels faithful to its source material yet refreshingly cinematic, a first-rate adaptation that hints at the launch of a compelling new franchise.

© Official still - Netflix