Barracuda Queens review: Sloppy crime drama roots for suburban burglars

Netflix’s Swedish crime drama series, Barracuda Queens see a group of five suburban girls turn to a life of crime to pay off accumulated debts.

Story

Lollo and Klara mess things up during a wild getaway to Baståd, all while drunk out of their minds, aggregating for themselves thousands and thousands in debt.

Together with Frida, Mia, and later Amina, the girls begin pulling off heists at their rich neighbors’ houses. However, in-fighting and communication lax make them all commit several mistakes that come to bite them later on.

The police eventually catch up on their suspicious activities and connections to the burglaries, and just when the girls think they’re all done for, an unexpected figure emerges as their savior, while they get to enjoy life as it was, unbothered privileged.

Performances

Tindra Monsen as Klara, Alva Bratt as Lollo, Sandra Zubovic, Tea Stjärne as Mia, and Sarah Gustafsson as Amina all deliver adequate to lukewarm performances, doing their best with what little they’re given.

It’s the same case with the actors playing the main characters’ parents and there are many instances where they can flex their acting chops but due to the short-lived and scary nature of said moments in the show, there’s not much that can be said about the performances.

Positives

Barracuda Queens goes by pretty fast, which helps it not be cluttered as much, and even with so many main characters, the storylines are all easy to follow and the plot never feels congested.

The second half of the show paces up the matters and the story really gains momentum, giving rise to some genuinely exciting moments that the show’s initial spells seem bereft of.

Negatives

A title card makes it known at the start of each episode that the show is inspired by true events. The makers seem to have taken that to heart as they try and stay away from any creative choice that could spice things up, either visually or narratively.

It’s almost offensive to have a group of main characters pull off heists and not make the heist sequences the least bit entertaining or memorable.

Who is the show rooting for actually? Lollo, Klara, Frida, and Amina are all affluent brats and even though they deem their burglaries Robinhood-esque — since they’re stealing from the rich — their acts are anything but.

They are wealthy girls who steal to pay off their debts and later enjoy more monetary benefits for themselves. Meanwhile, the poor and underprivileged in the show only suffer because of the Barracuda Queens and their actions.

However, the apathy of the girls and their affluent parents towards the working-class, underprivileged people are not shown in nearly as negative a light as it should have been. The girls deal with no consequences whatsoever and celebrate their exploits at the end like they’re a Swedish Ocean’s Eleven.

It’s not even that the show seeks to showcase the bleak reality of the class struggle and how the poor just can’t win and has to suffer the consequences of crimes they didn’t even commit while the wealthy just walk around scot-free.

No, the show sticks to a chirpy, comedic tone and never hammers in on the dark comedy aspect that could’ve probably elevated the affair to someplace better.

Verdict

Barracuda Queens fails to leave an impact with its fleeting runtime and sloppy writing, coupled with consistent misses at the mark at commenting on how culpability is often easier imposed on the downtrodden while the wealthy continue basking in their privilege.

There is a lack of any remarkable performance or storyline, as scandals, heartbreaks, and adulterous affairs all just go nowhere and conclude with the most anti-climactic developments.


Also Read: Barracuda Queens summary and ending explained

Rishabh Chauhan
Rishabh Chauhan
Rishabh is an editor at The Envoy Web, and when not writing about films and shows, he's busy attending to a perpetually growing and an all-genre-encompassing binge list.

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