Freya is a long-time police typist in Berlin, a mousy type played brilliantly by Iris Berben, and her inner life teems with the atrocities she hears. And her daughter vanished. Out of this dark material, “The Typist” weaves a pitch black mystery drama that builds slowly and then accelerates over five episodes. There is much to like here: spot-on acting performances (especially Peter Kurth as the head of the homicide unit), a dark palette of seedy city and country scenes, a fascinating peer into police team work, and a cohesive plot. Fans of grim European police dramas will fit right in. I found myself admiring the execution but recoiling from a sense of voyeurism feeding off the unremitting grimness.
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