Mini-review: 'Clark' is a good binger (even if it fizzles)
Bill Skarsgård dazzles in new Netflix series
HARK!
I hear...a dynasty...
Oh, those Skarsgårds, a family troupe of actors launched by Stellan Skarsgård, who left the stages of Sweden, came to Hollywood and in a half-century has acted in movies from Good Will Hunting to last year's Dune (he'll also be in the sequel).
He has four acting sons, including Alexander, of Zoolander, Melancholia (alongside his father) and, most recently, Passing; Gustaf, best known for series work in Vikings and Cursed; Valter, who works steadily in Swedish films; and Bill, best known for work in Stephen King's It (in which he played Pennywise the Dancing Clown) and other horror movies.
Until now.
And, until a week ago, my favorite Skarsgard son performance, by far, was Alexander, in War on Everyone--a terrific action/comedy flick from 2016 that pairs the gangling, icy-cool blond (though with no trace of a Swedish accent) with short, snappy Michael Peña. The two play boozing, brawling New Mexico cops who make their own rules--they're very-bad cops, but you still root for them.
Alexander is menacing and unpredictable in a hilarious performance.
Younger brother Bill tops that, with a kinetic star turn in the new Netflix series Clark (click to see trailer).
Bill is 31, but his youthful energy makes him believable as career criminal Clark Olofsson from his late teens through adulthood.
Curiously enough, though Olofsson is best known for the bank robbery that led to the widely-used term "The Stockholm Syndrome," the six-episode series Clark is on the downslide, by the time it explores that 1973 heist-and-hostage situation.
Before the episode runs out of steam, the first three episodes of Clark are spectacularly entertaining, with director Jonas Åkerlund speeding at a Guy Ritchie fights-and-gags pace.
Bill Skarsgard has a loopy charm, smirking and shrugging his way through life as he progresses from petty crimes to big heists, equally fueled by lust and greed.
His motto is neatly summed up by the title of the first episode: Being the Best at Being the Best Was Not My Thing, So I Decided to Be the Best at Being the Worst.
Billed as "based on truth and lies," the show admittedly takes its liberties, yet the almost ridiculous series of prison escapes are steeped in facts.
Moral of the story: If you have to do time, Sweden looks like your best bet.
Similarly, there are far worse shows to do time watching; Clark isn't perfect, but it might be a perfect relaunch of Bill Skarsgard's career.
Wouldn't it be great to see him, Alexander and big poppa Stellan in a movie together?