Review: Another Round

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Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) is stuck in a rut. He's a high school history teacher who is at the point where he's disinterested in everything. Then he and his friends/fellow teachers, Nikolaj, (Magnus Millang) Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen) and Peter (Lars Ranthe) decide to conduct an experiment. They attempt to keep a constant blood alcohol level of .05% to take the edge off and make them feel alive again. And it gets off to a very good start.

Mads Mikkelsen is one of my favorite working actors at the moment and this is yet another Danish gem. I'm glad they're submitting this to the Oscars. A film like this could so easily go off the deep end and this film never does.

I find in a lot of movies where a character consumes drugs and/or alcohol when you know they shouldn't, they end up doing something cringe-worthy that immediately cements the fact that they made a mistake And it can be annoying, because it's an obvious road block for the character to get to their goal. This doesn't do that. Despite the experiment in general being a horrible idea, we're spared that awkwardness. Things improve immediately until they don't. And the film handles the eventual downfall with grace and never gets overly melodramatic. 

Mikkelson of course is great. He captures Martin at his highs and lows well and there's a very impression show of his athleticism at one point too which was an absolute joy. Larsen and Ranthe are actors I've seen in a few other Danish films before and they were also good in their respective roles, but it's Millang who surprised me the most. He was hilarious. 

This is available to rent on VOD at the moment and it's easily one of my favorites of the year. Also is it just me, or are Danish graduation ceremonies better than...just about everyone else's?

Recommended: Yes

Grade: A

Memorable Quote: "I think Tommy's rooting for us." - Martin (Mads Mikkelsen)

Comments

  1. keith71_98January 5, 2021 at 1:36 PM

    WOO HOO! Really glad to read this. I'm such a huge fan of this movie and the performance from Mads. It held a pretty prominent spot in my Top 10. It moved me a lot more than I ever expected.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thevoid99January 5, 2021 at 4:37 PM

    I heard great things about this film as I like watching Mads Mikkelsen acting in his native language as I'm hoping he does another film with Nicolas Winding Refn real soon as that is like the Scorsese/DeNiro collaboration we have right now. And if they are doing another film together, have Jena Malone as the co-star as she needs something to do after the debacle that is Stardust (which I still haven't seen and refuse to watch).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 5, 2021 at 9:24 PM

      Poor Jena, she's had some duds recently. She deserves better.

      Delete
  3. RuthJanuary 5, 2021 at 6:08 PM

    Mads Mikkelsen is such a versatile actor. This sounds like a movie I'd definitely enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Often Off TopicJanuary 7, 2021 at 6:01 AM

    Danish graduation ceremonies are downright amazing, I loved that final scene! This is one of those movies that is going to play on my mind for a while, the more I think about it the more I like it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 7, 2021 at 6:31 AM

      Oh I know! Like, I expected that dancing thing to come back some how, but not as grand as it did.

      Delete
  5. Cinematic DelightsJanuary 8, 2021 at 7:01 AM

    I try to catch anything Mads does as I'm quite a fan of his. Will try and see this soon!

    ReplyDelete

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