The Sky Atlantic series "Faithless" offers a "risque infidelity drama" that "is as Swedish as flat-packed furniture," according to a review by Christopher Stevens.
The show, which is a six-part series set in two distinct eras (1977 and the present day), is based on a semi-autobiographical script by the renowned Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. Bergman wrote the script near the end of his life, and it was first filmed in 2000 when he was in his eighties. Stevens notes that Bergman stated the story was inspired by an affair he had with a married woman, Gun Hagberg, in the years following World War II.
"Faithless" delves into themes of eroticism and morality, with one character, David, an arty film-maker, suggesting that English people "can't tell the difference between eroticism and pornography." The review contrasts this with the Swedish cultural perspective, where "nudity and open-air sex are as normal as flat-pack furniture," implying a higher threshold for what is considered explicit.
The series centers on a bohemian jazz pianist and his wife, Marianne, at their rural lakeside home. When the musician leaves for a tour, he entrusts his best friend, David, to look after his wife. The narrative follows the ensuing complications, including an unexpected romance between Marianne and David. The review points out the perceived naivety of the characters, particularly David's surprise at developing feelings for Marianne, and his bafflement when she engages with themes of polyamory.
Stevens describes the series as a homage to Bergman's "bleakly beautiful style of film-making." Despite the foregone conclusion that the relationships will end badly, the opening episode is characterized by a "by a heartbreaking naivety." This is contrasted in the second hour when David, now 50 years older and played by Jesper Christensen, visits Marianne in a psychiatric hospital, where she is described as "suicidally unhappy."
The review suggests that a story of this nature, with its uninhibited exploration of human relationships, could "hardly be made in English" due to a perceived cultural self-consciousness. The series is presented entirely in Swedish with subtitles.