We Are Movie Geeks

The title “Piece Of My Heart” (“Pala Sydamesta” in Finnish) looks like it belongs on the poster for a romantic tear-jerker. Regular readers of my reviews will know it couldn’t possibly be one of those, simply because I’m the one writing this review. “Piece Of My Heart” is an eight-episode Finnish TV miniseries dramatizing the work of child welfare workers in Helsinki, delivering far more suspense than sobbing.

Rita (Lotta Lehtikari), the veteran of a two-woman team, is severely traumatized and disgraced from a recent high-profile failure. A young girl under her supervision disappeared under circumstances that raise questions of Rita’s misconduct. She’d always been something of a rogue in the department, but her handling of this family may have gone tragically over the line. As the season begins, Rita is returning to duty, but finding herself replaced as head of the unit. Her new supervisor (Martin Bahne) is something of a prig with a grudge, adding another dimension of challenges to serving the beleaguered families on her turf.

Enter Laura (Niina Koponen) as Rita’s partner. Laura is a young mother, new to the agency, and soon overwhelmed by the severity and urgency of their clients’ needs. In the early episodes, we meet a swirl of children and teens with a full spectrum of personal and familial issues. We watch the women do their best to respond, despite limited resources, lack of essential police support, Rita’s actions being overly scrutinized by that new boss in the wake of her recent episode, and overriding political pressures on them all, arising from the city’s push for funding of a large new facility and expanded agency for housing and healing troubled minors.

The series covers a lot of emotional and cultural ground in just over six suspenseful hours. The individuals’ arcs overlap, with those we meet early on continuing for much of the season. Besides displaying an array of troubled families, the series explores the toll this work takes on case workers and their own families, including factors from their past that pointed them towards such a demanding and draining career choice.

We particularly see how hard it is for them to make “non-work” plans, since crises requiring immediate response pose a 24/7 cancellation threat. The residual damage to our protagonists is highlighted by barrages of flashbacks and nagging dreams – especially Rita’s. The mystery of what happened to that girl before the series opens weaves through its entirety, impacting much of how they can handle their current clientele.

The series is ideal for a binge, since several cases progress within each episode, alternating among the victims, their families, the workers and high-level political machinations concerning approval and control over the Big Project. The crushing burdens of responsibility the job forces upon the social workers and their own families is also presented compellingly, without descending into soap opera.

The first three episodes begin streaming on Topic on Feb. 17, with the rest issued weekly thereafter. Those who start immediately should not be put off by the slow pace and possibly confusing mix of flashbacks and nightmares in the early going. All the elements come together over time, and progress in a relatively realistic, emotionally engaging manner towards a believable, lifelike set of outcomes.

The problems their young clients face may be hard for some to watch, but the presentation seems about as honest (i.e. free of cinematic hyperbole) as such dramas can get. Unlike many domestic analogs, these protagonists are relatable humans, flaws and all, trying their best without martial arts skills or other extraordinary resources. Viewers are not spoon-fed tidy Hollywood endings for all parties but should be satisfied when the dust settles.

“Piece Of My Heart,” in Finnish with English subtitles, begins streaming on Topic with episodes 1-3 on Feb. 17, and additional episodes 4-8 following weekly.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars