My Review 3096 Days (3/10)

"Obey me! Obey me! Obey me!"

3096 Days is based on the autobiographical book written by Natascha Kampusch, a young Austrian girl who was kidnapped when she was 10 and kept in a cell for over 8 years. The shocking event took place during the late 90's and the title of the film refers to the amount of days Natascha was held captive, so there is no spoiler here. The film was directed by Sherry Hormann (Desert Flower) and the screenplay adapted by Ruth Toma. The premise may sound interesting since this is an extraordinary story, but the truth of the matter is that the film failed to engage me. The film focuses on Natascha and how she struggled to break away from her chains, forgetting about the outside world (there are a few scenes with the mother, but we never get to see her desperation) and the police procedural to try to find her. Because of this the film focused entirely on Natascha's captivity which after a few minutes kind of felt repetitive because there wasn't much they could do with the story. We see the abuse she experiences and clearly her captor is a troubled and sick young man, but there isn't much more that the film has to say about this. Thirty minutes into the film you realize that it doesn't have anything more to offer and the story begins to drag so much you actually feel like you are held captive for years.

The film opens with a scene at a local bar in Austria where a 10 year old girl named Natascha (Amelia Pidgeon) is falling asleep while her father (Roeland Wiesnekker) is having a few drinks. The next morning Natascha's mother (Trine Dyrholm) is trying to wake her up for school, but of course she has trouble doing so due to the late night her father put her through. Her mother realizes that her father has taken her to the bar again, but Natascha defends him and is slapped for doing so. Upset, Natascha walks out of her home and heads to school, but on her way there, she is kidnapped by a young man (Thure Lindhart) who hides her in a white van and takes her to a hidden cell under his home. For the next 8 years this will be Natascha's home. The film focuses on those early days and then it jumps forward in time to her teen years (played here by Antonia Campbell-Hughes) where she is abused. She is convinced that only one of them will survive, but she never loses hope that one day she will break free.

The most positive note about this film is the impressive transformation that Antonia Campbell-Hughes went through to play Natascha. It was shocking to see her so thin and it allowed us to understand the true impact of the abuse she was receiving. It's just too bad she went through this physical transformation in such a bad film. She delivers a strong performance as well as Thure Lindhart, but the rest of the cast is forgotten. It's a shame that such a talented actress like Trine Dyrholm (In a Better World) is so underused. I believe that if the film gave us a better glimpse of the outside world and the struggle Natascha's parents were going through, it would have engaged the audience more. But since everything takes place almost entirely in captivity the film does get repetitive and dull at times. The story is devastating, but the film never made me feel that way really. Stick with the book and stay away from this movie.

My Review: Love is All You Need (6/10)

¨I really don´t understand why anybody would work for you when you are so awful.¨

I really don’t understand why Academy Award winner, Susanne Bier, chose a character so unlikeable to play the lead romantic role in this film. Pierce Brosnan plays this really awful and hateful lead character that is upset at the world, but ends up falling in love with a recovering Cancer patient played by Trine Dyrholm. The two seem like complete opposites, but end up falling for each other after the film magically transforms this unlikeable character into a somewhat sentimental one. I really hated the first half of this film, but once Brosnan´s character became more human the film really picks up and has a strong and emotional second half. The second part is what makes this film worth the while and where Susanne Bier´s magic reappears. This is perhaps her weakest effort after having directed Brothers and In a Better World, two films which I really enjoyed. The Danish director combines some elements from her homeland as well as a touch of British and Italian, but the real problem with this romantic comedy has to do with the pacing of the film. The screenplay was written by Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen who had also worked with her in her previous productions. Love is All You Need doesn’t really live up to their prior work, but it still is a decent comedy that works better in the second half. The Danish title translates to The Bald Hairdresser, but the English title works a lot better. This was a bit of a disappointment for me despite feeling a connection towards the end, but I expect much more from Bier´s upcoming film, Serena, staring Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

Ida (Trine Dyrholm) is a hairdresser who has lost her hair after battling with cancer, and at the same time has found out her husband (Kim Bodnia) is having an affair with his accountant. She finds some comfort in her daughter, Astrid (Molly Blixt Egelind), who is getting married with Patrick (Sebastian Jessen) as she travels to Italy for the wedding reception. At the reception she meets Philip (Pierce Brosnan), a successful widowed businessman who is angry at life. Philip is Patrick´s father and he falls in love with Ida´s charm and goodness. She reminds him a lot of his wife and the two spend a lot of time together while their children are getting ready for the wedding. At the same time Astrid feels like Patrick is having second thoughts about the marriage after feeling him very distant the last few days. Conflicts arise at the beautiful and romantic Italian seaside villa as we get closer and closer to the ceremony.

Susanne Bier has made some great dramatic films, but here she falls a little short with this romantic comedy. It has its touching and emotional moments, but the pacing of the film really doesn’t help. She does manage to deal with the complexities of life and love, but in doing so she does make this movie a little more complex than it should be for a romantic comedy. Trine Dyrholm is a delight on screen and she gets much more screen time here than in A Better World. Pierce Brosnan does what he can with his character, but he is so unlikeable at the beginning of the film that it is really hard to cheer for him. It´s hard not to fall in love with the beautiful Italian cinematography and it really adds to the romantic atmosphere. Kim Bodnia, playing the unfaithful husband also adds to the comedy. The young couple has very little chemistry with each other, but we see why during the second half of the film. Despite all my complaints it’s hard not to leave with a smile by the time the credits begin rolling. If you can get through the painful first half of the film you might actually enjoy this film.

    

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