Snabba Cash

The quest for easy money is never simple; in fact, it can get downright chaotic in Netflix’s latest original series, Snabba Cash. Based on the popular Swedish trilogy of the same name, the show reimagines the original story set ten years after the events seen in the films. At its core, Snabba Cash demonstrates entrepreneurs colliding with the criminal world in a tense narrative where the pursuit of money tests business partners, familial bonds and proves to have ruthless consequences. With its gunfights and brilliant acting, the programme should be a home run; however, the plot ultimately leaves viewers wanting more.

Throughout its six episodes, the series follows three characters’ stories, each with their own desperation for money that ends up intertwining their fates together. Leya (Evin Ahmad) is a savvy businesswoman and single mother who will stop at nothing to succed. However, troubles with investors and her deceased husband’s drug-dealing brother Ravy’s (Dada Fungula Bozela) keep blocking her entrepreneurial path. Salim (Alexander Abdallah) is a wedding singer by night and Ravy’s muscle by day, he soon enters a relationship with Leya that makes him question his life choices. Finally, there is Tim (Ali Alarik), a teenager who gets entangled with crime and finds himself employed as a drug dealer for Ravy. Each character hints towards complex and deep development, but with their rushed connections and jarring dialogue, it’s hard to fully invest in their journeys.

The production struggles to link the characters together to form any meaningful storylines between them. Leya and Salim’s relationship feels insanely fast and unrealistic. Similarly, Ravy and Leya’s interactions feel too easy, with tension hinted but no compelling dynamics or scenes to back up the obvious strained emotional implications of their past. By themselves, the characters are interesting and have solid through lines but together lack a sense of urgency, making some scenes lag and causing the first few episodes to suffer in pacing as exposition is set. However, although the narrative falters, the acting is outstanding. Each performance is captivating, but Abdallah’s depiction of Salim is especially memorable.

Snabba Cash, in many ways, feels like a sturdy skeleton, all the elements are there and everything works, but it feels incomplete. However, with the strong array of talent, it’s difficult to stop watching and is easy for action fans to binge.

Emma-Jane Betts

Snabba Cash is released on Netflix on 7^th April 2021.

Watch the trailer for Snabba Cash here: