The Tatort Team from Stuttgart are suspicious when a pattern of sudden deaths in nursing care settings are traced to one particular care giver. The opening scene sets the stage as the person of interest telephones people who were expecting her, to make obviously invented excuses why she couldn't come. A police officer is standing by in the background, a microphone with a recording device on the table. The interview begins.
For awhile the woman suspected of murdering elderly men in her care appears confident, having a quick witted answer for everything, but she grows more nervous as the questioning continues. Soon the prosecutor, who initially ruled out foul play for lack of solid evidence to the contrary, is won over as the suspect is caught in a lie. The detectives refuse to give up, both convinced of the woman's guilt. Eventually a sordid mess of circumstances suggest something other than cold blooded murder, which is cleverly shown to the audience, but offered only in very veiled and unclear hints to the detectives.
This episode of the long running German TV Classic stands out with a smart script. Many of the verbal exchanges are quite witty, yet perfectly befitting the situation. It's a refreshing departure from the gratuitous street talk or predictable retorts to expected questions, as offered in formula crime stories. Once again, we see a compassionate side to police, who are not out to "get the bad guys", but are capable of discerning premeditated killing from homicide with special underlying circumstances. The last third of the episode allows the audience to sympathize with the suspect even more than the detectives do, because we get to see what the detectives will never find out. - A very different kind of Tatort, but well worth watching!
For awhile the woman suspected of murdering elderly men in her care appears confident, having a quick witted answer for everything, but she grows more nervous as the questioning continues. Soon the prosecutor, who initially ruled out foul play for lack of solid evidence to the contrary, is won over as the suspect is caught in a lie. The detectives refuse to give up, both convinced of the woman's guilt. Eventually a sordid mess of circumstances suggest something other than cold blooded murder, which is cleverly shown to the audience, but offered only in very veiled and unclear hints to the detectives.
This episode of the long running German TV Classic stands out with a smart script. Many of the verbal exchanges are quite witty, yet perfectly befitting the situation. It's a refreshing departure from the gratuitous street talk or predictable retorts to expected questions, as offered in formula crime stories. Once again, we see a compassionate side to police, who are not out to "get the bad guys", but are capable of discerning premeditated killing from homicide with special underlying circumstances. The last third of the episode allows the audience to sympathize with the suspect even more than the detectives do, because we get to see what the detectives will never find out. - A very different kind of Tatort, but well worth watching!
