A film with some interesting threads but too many plot holes to work. I have no idea why Danish performers chose to make the film in English, but it was their first mistake. It is too difficult to read motivation and sincerity when actors don't fully understand nuances in the script.
There is a strong streak of Scream in the knowing, meta dialogue, and broad parallels to An Inspector Calls, with revelations changing the direction of the plot repeatedly.
The LGBT story works in parts but overall feels more like it was the only way for the characters to work than the world in which they naturally exist.
Unfortunately there is little effort to explain why characters change personality as the tale develops, or why a suburban home seems to be totally cut off from its community. Two people are subject to detailed character analysis - are they a convincing liar? Would they know what to do in this situation? - despite not actually appearing at any point. There is no reason to concoct personalities for them, and certainly not when the main protagonists are left as ciphers.
Although they can be frustratingly inconsistent, the three central characters all undergo epiphanies of a kind, and we come to like them eventually. Close to good; just never quite better than high-average.
There is a strong streak of Scream in the knowing, meta dialogue, and broad parallels to An Inspector Calls, with revelations changing the direction of the plot repeatedly.
The LGBT story works in parts but overall feels more like it was the only way for the characters to work than the world in which they naturally exist.
Unfortunately there is little effort to explain why characters change personality as the tale develops, or why a suburban home seems to be totally cut off from its community. Two people are subject to detailed character analysis - are they a convincing liar? Would they know what to do in this situation? - despite not actually appearing at any point. There is no reason to concoct personalities for them, and certainly not when the main protagonists are left as ciphers.
Although they can be frustratingly inconsistent, the three central characters all undergo epiphanies of a kind, and we come to like them eventually. Close to good; just never quite better than high-average.
