By early November 2011, Mads Mikkelsen, Alexandra Rapaport, Thomas Bo Larsen and Bjarne Henriksen were cast in a Danish drama film penned by Vinterberg and Lindholm and to be directed by Vinterberg. At the same time, principal photography commenced and took place in Taastrup, Denmark.
The film stars Mikkelsen, Rapaport, Bo Larsen and Henriksen. The film carries surprising dramatic power thanks to the acting that is good enough to carry it over even the admitted rough patches in the final reels. Impeccable performances propel the film through both sluggish and torturous scenes; Mikkelsen is superb, an immense talent who spars perfectly with the rest of the cast's paranoid and unforgiving community. Defying every pitfall and eclipsing everything else in the film, Mikkelsen delivers a bravura portrait of a complex man falsely accused of sexual misconduct with one of his student. Worth navigating for its refusal to play to the crowd. There's certainly nothing safe or sweet about Mikkelsen's performance.
The dark and twisted film is an intriguing and enjoyable little drama - though very slight, and never entirely convincing in terms of its characters' motivations, behaviours or actions. The film illuminates blurry lines in a fascinating way, but what those lines mean, how they've been crossed, and where things go from there are beyond the scope of the film. Even though the dialogue occasionally feels calculated, there is an undeniably compelling air of menace and secrecy generated, making it hard to guess what might happen next. You'll have to see for yourself what a slender plot line, well-chosen parts, and skillful directing can achieve with a handful of rich characters and a deceptively peaceful setting. The film is Picnic at Hanging Rock-level cagey about its central mystery, and while many of its characters know what happened off-screen in both the recent and distant past, they ain't sharing the details with us, just their pain. It's a slowly tightening vise, all about suspicion and hostility and resentments and what people aren't talking about when they talk to each other. The film is vague to a fault, suggesting just enough to get across what may be going on, while remaining open to interpretation. The film manages to maintain suspense for its entire one hundred and fifteen minutes, juggling comedy, dread, horror and tragedy, while never losing its naturalistic style. The film is ultimately about dark secrets coming up out of the murky weeds. But those expecting these enigmas to break the water's surface with clarity might want to look elsewhere. The film is comparable to the work of Fritz Lang, Paul Schrader or any other filmmaker skilled at evoking panic and self-loathing.
Simon says The Hunt (Jagten) receives:
Also, see my NZIFF review for Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens).
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