Love detective mystery dramas, particularly those from the UK and US ('Inspector Morse', 'A Touch of Frost', 'Foyle's War', 'Inspector George Gently', 'Midsomer Murders', 'Law and Order', 'Criminal Minds', 'Monk' and 'Murder She Wrote' for examples, and non-English/American ones (i.e. The Swedish 'Wallander' and the Danish 'The Killing') also fascinate me.
'Inspector Montalbano' is one of the best and most entertaining examples. It is not easy breathing freshness into a well-worn genre but 'Inspector Montalbano' manages to do so with aplomb. Watching 'Inspector Montalbano' is like eating a delicious Italian meal that immensely satisfies and leaves you wanting more. There may be very familiar tropes, but in a way it's inevitable and doesn't detract from the enjoyment at all.
"A Ray of Light" is a very good end to Season 3 (credited as a Season 9 episode here but aired here as part of Season 3), but not one of my favourites and my least favourite of the season. Lina Perned doesn't do it for me as Livia (some are going to disagree with me on this), she lacks the charm and pathos as well as the chemistry between Zingaretti of Katharina Bohm, is too young being the youngest of the three actresses who played Livia. And the dubbing didn't seem to fit, Bohm was dubbed too but nowhere near as distractingly. The denouement, or the final reel pay off, to me also felt clumsy and didn't really gel with the rest of the episode.
One always expects 'Inspector Montalbano' to look good. As always with 'Inspector Montalbano', "A Ray of Light" is beautifully shot and the scenery is stunning, making those who've never been to Italy want to book a holiday there as soon as possible and is a treat for anybody who loves all things Italian. The scenery as always is atmospheric and the use of it very clever. The music is never over-bearing or low-key with a nice atmosphere and flavour, a lot of it is very cleverly used. The sound effects are remarkably authentic.
As ever, there is a very good mix of humour, tension and drama, all balanced very well as usual, and it's thought-provoking as well. The story is absorbing, suitably challenges the viewer without confusing them (a lot happens but it is not as over-complicated as the previous episode) and is tightly plotted. Characters may be stereotypes but well-written ones, especially one of the most fascinating foreign detective mystery dramas titular characters there is to me.
Acting is terrific, especially from Luca Zingaretti who is a treasure in the title role, having a perfect balance of comedy and drama and playing it straight while always engaging with his material. All the others are great, with the sole exception of Perned, particularly Cesare Bocci and Angelo Russo.
On the whole, very good but there is better in the show. 8/10 Bethany Cox