Excellent adaptation of the book. Great casting. Please do more movies of the Department Q series!

THE ABSENT ONE is the second in the trilogy of DEPARTMENT Q films, Danish crime dramas based on novels. This Scandi-noir offering has all you'd expect from this particular genre: dark visuals, a gritty plot, a sinister back story that impinges on the present day, and some scruffy, downbeat detectives who refuse to give up the case no matter what.This film features an extensive back story involving a group of public school teenagers who get up to some dark deeds in the 1990s. It's hard-hitting and explicit stuff indeed, and the present-day storyline is just as intensive. These DEPARTMENT Q films benefit from strong production values, solid writing, good acting, and a general air of quality that makes them ones to watch for fans of the genre.

So when I saw the Keeper of Lost Causes, I was very impressed by what a griping Crime Drama it was and when I discovered it was the first in a trilogy, I had to see the others.The Absent One is the second in the trilogy. Some time after Carl and his partner, Assad made Department Q a name for their first case, they quickly became a joke again due to Carl's focus on solving the cold cases rather than just organizing the place met they have not closed another cold case since. Then a retired sheriff begs Carl to look into the cold case involving the murder of his two children which someone took the blame for. This lead Carl to uncover the dangerous vices of the privilege of high society.It's as gritty as the first movie, with a case that has slightly more depth and angles to it. This allows us to see the warm heart of Carl without melting the ice, as he gives his all to make right what once went wrong. The detective himself becomes more well rounded with just enough peaks into his personal life (a bonding relationship he has with his ex-wife's son, who he obviously sees as his flesh and blood), to make him human. The movie also introduces a new team member, Rose, the last of a long list of secretaries who don't work well with Carl, but luckily Assad likes her.This is becoming a fabulous police drama franchise and I can't wait to complete the trilogy.

The fact that I actually bothered to set up an account on this website just to express my disappointment with this film and save you from watching this utter nightmare should already serve as an explanation. I've never left any review anywhere. But this movie made me angry. Very weak, predictable and uninteresting plot, poor, over-dramatic acting made me feel as if I was watching one of the comedies with Leslie Nielsen. Only that this was not supposed to be a comedy... 2 hours wasted. No idea where all those fantastic reviews are from and why this film received more than 2 stars. Wouldn't recommend to my enemy. DONOT WASTE YOUR TIME