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On a late winter evening in 1986, a graphic designer (Robert Gustafsson) becomes the unlikely murderer of Sweden’s Prime Minister.

What was initially presented in 2020 by the prosecutor in charge of the investigation as the definitive answer to the question of who committed the murder of Olof Palme remains an intriguing but unproven theory. This miniseries crafts a compelling, icy depiction of the murder and its consequences for Engström, a man supposedly driven by a desire to be the object of attention.

Gustafsson, aided by heavy prosthetics, is convincing in a sad, tense performance.

2021-Sweden. 228 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Charlotte Brändström, Simon Kaijser. Teleplay: Wilhelm Behrman, Niklas Rockström. Book: Thomas Pettersson. Cinematography: Aril Wretblad. Cast: Robert Gustafsson (Stig Engström), Eva Melander (Margareta Engström), Mikael Persbrandt (Hans Holmér), Björn Bengtsson, Peter Andersson, Magnus Krepper, Joel Spira, Peter Viitanen, Torkel Petersson, Shanti Roney, Lia Boysen, Mårten Klingberg, Oscar Töringe, Jonas Malmsjö. 

Trivia: Original title: Den osannolika mördaren. Originally shown in five episodes. On the night of the murder in 1986, Gustafsson visited the same cinema as Palme.

Last word: “I became incredibly fascinated by Stig Engström, the man. This trident of huge confidence, an initially rather popular, reputable person, and then a hopeless alcoholic outrun by technology, who’s mocked, bullied, cast aside… The character became sort of a reckoning with my own Palme connection: ‘OK, let’s try to understand this theory the prosecutor fell for.'” (Gustafsson, Dagens Nyheter)