How entertaining? ★☆☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★☆☆☆☆ 24 May 2016
A movie review of THE COMMUNE. |
YouTube review:
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“I annoy people. It’s my personality,” Allon (Fares Fares)
I even like director Thomas Vinterberg’s IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVE. Anyone else? Anyone actually seen it? When a filmmaker has the ability to make something as piercing as FESTEN and THE HUNT, whatever they make next will be met with interest. That Vinterberg has gone soft, and made a period dramedy, loosely based on his childhood experiences in a Danish commune, had one wondering if he could deliver a project without his usual bite. Unfortunately, in its place are heavy-handed (supposedly) humorous observations and grating melodrama.
I even like director Thomas Vinterberg’s IT’S ALL ABOUT LOVE. Anyone else? Anyone actually seen it? When a filmmaker has the ability to make something as piercing as FESTEN and THE HUNT, whatever they make next will be met with interest. That Vinterberg has gone soft, and made a period dramedy, loosely based on his childhood experiences in a Danish commune, had one wondering if he could deliver a project without his usual bite. Unfortunately, in its place are heavy-handed (supposedly) humorous observations and grating melodrama.
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Opening on Erik (Ulrich Thomsen) inheriting his deceased father’s almost-mansion, 450 square metres of room to be precise, we also meet Anna (Trine Dyrholm) and teenage daughter Freja (Martha Sofie Wallstrøm Hansen). His family are enamoured by the vastness, and change in fortunes. Stick in the mud (and metaphorical stick in the butt) Erik is worried about heating the place and the waste of space. Fun loving and adventurous Anna, who is also a TV news anchor (though no member of the public seems to recognise) manages to convince Erik to try out the in vogue shared living experience. Erik not having spoken to his dad in 22 years is not delved into, let alone remarked upon, and typifies the sloppy relationship building.
There is a sub-SHALLOW GRAVE interviewing of housemates. Virtually everyone turning up is welcomed. Underserved cheers, just for being, meet them. Faux joy at the smallest of incidents soon wears thin. It reminds of Malcolm McDowell’s tiresome artistic director, in Robert Altman’s THE COMPANY, praising the performances out of proportion to what was witnessed. Each of the final assortment, bar the lead couple, are given a simplistic character trait:
- Allon cries at everything. A performance not out of place in weak silent cinema.
- Pervy Steffen (Magnus Millang).
- Mona (Julie Agnete Vang), the redhead with a remarked upon sexual appetite, who then incongruously settles down quickly with the personality-less Ole (Lars Ranthe).
- Emma (Helene Reingaard Neumann), the two-dimensional sex object.
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Nothing much happens, and THE COMMUNE is so cursory in its details, it is hard to discern a perspective. Eventually, the plot settles on bland architect lecturer Erik having an affair with undergraduate student Emma, which shatters the harmony and sends Anna spiralling into a meltdown. It is difficult to care about sketchily drawn players. Proceedings have a sloppily cobbled together vibe.
If you want to watch 1970s collective living, check out Lukas Moodysson’s ace TOGETHER.
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