At first glance, End of Summer, a new drama , falls under the Nordic Noir banner: thrillers with complex characters and gritty realism set amongst bleak Nordic landscapes and grey cities. Tonally, it is; there’s death, mystery, and morally ambiguous protagonists in Sweden. But visually, it is bright yet contemplative and literally embodies the bittersweet end of summer.
It opens on a summer evening in 1984 when five-year-old Billy goes missing in rural Sweden, leaving behind conspiracies and a grieving family. Twenty years later, his older sister Vera (Julia Ragnarsson) is a bereavement therapist in Stockholm and meets Isak (Erik Enge, whose work includes roles in SBS favourites and ), an adoptee whose childhood memories mirrors Vera’s. As the episodes unfold, there are more questions. Who exactly is Isak? Who did Vera’s parents befriend in their youth? What were the cops trying to cover up?
Julia Ragnarsson as Vera in the opening episode of 'End of Summer'. Credit: Viaplay / Dawid Olczak
This series is based on a bestselling book by Anders de la Motte, so some audiences may already guess the twists and ending. But Enge is honest enough to say he’d never heard of the book until he got the role. Instead, he is happy to discuss the series and share his views on why audiences might gravitate to it. To start, he believes the series is ‘label-less’. “It has drama, thriller, crime. It is quite mysterious,” he says. “As an audience, you get to solve the mystery together with the characters because there are some questions that need to be answered throughout the series.”
Enge is not the protagonist of the series; that role goes to Vera, who makes questionable choices both in her professional and personal life. But while Enge’s presence on screen is smaller and a slow-burn, he dominates the frame and imbues it with nervous and distressed energy while still remaining likeable. It is quite a see-saw, but he plays it with the right balance of emotions: a raised voice here, a stricken expression there.
Erik Enge as Isak. Credit: Viaplay / Dawid Olczak
“My character, Isak, is quite a puzzled character,” Enge explains. Isak had a great life until his dying mother told him that he is adopted. After that he becomes unmoored. “He joins Vera’s group therapy and he has these vague memories of his childhood that he can’t quite place. The thing is that Vera has the same memories, kind of. It raises the questions of who is Isak and are they connected somehow?”
While Isak and Vera want answers, the rest of Vera’s family have made their peace with the tragedy and do not appreciate how she questions everyone and tries to relive the moments leading up to Billy’s disappearance. These differences in personalities provide the tension and drama for most of the series, as everyone feels betrayed by the people they love.
Enge reckons he can relate to Isak and Vera’s characters here. “I’m also the same. I want to know the answers. Who am I, where did I come from. If you haven’t got the answers, it is hard to move on.”
Erik Enge in 'Tigers'. Credit: Black Spark Film
This is not Enge’s first foray into playing complex characters based on a book. His award-winning performance in the 2020 Swedish movie is based on a true story where he played the role of a young footballer for FC Inter Milan’s youth team and all the sacrifices and pressures that comes with it. From that compelling performance you would assume that Enge was at the very least a semi-professional footballer. But as the cliché goes, success is really 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. “I didn’t have much to do with football before,” Enge confirms. “I had to obviously work a lot on that just to build my own body to look like a professional footballer, how to move like a football player, where to watch on the pitch.” The training and shooting schedule was intense enough that Enge needed a few months off to recover.
In comparison, filming End of Summer was not as physically taxing for him but he applied the same methods to get to know the character, which involved speaking to director, studying the script and tapping into his own life experiences. Granted, not many actors are likely to have life experiences that mirror Isak or Billy’s, so Enge tapped into the emotions of being lost and confused. “I tried to get into the feeling of not knowing what’s going on, and where have I felt that in my life.”
Fortunately for viewers, that really does come across in the series. And as Isak and Vera chase answers, perhaps the End of Summer represents a sense of closure for both of them.
End of Summer is streaming now at SBS On Demand.
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End of Summer
series • drama • Swedish
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series • drama • Swedish
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Tigers is now Streaming at SBS On demand.
