THE HUNT
DIRECTOR: Thomas Vinterberg
CAST: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp
CLASSIFICATION: 16LVS
RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes
RATING: 4 stars (out of 5)
Diane de Beer
IT’S a movie that reminds you of As it is in Heaven or perhaps more aptly, The Crucible. The name also signals that this isn’t a sweet movie, something ominous is lurking and it might pounce at any second.
A school teacher lives a pretty lonely yet gentle kind of life. He’s trying hard to find a life following his divorce and the constant battle to win custody of his teenage son.
Meanwhile, he’s working as a nursery school teacher and the movie is at pains to show how well he manages the children.
Dark clouds start to pile up and when a child, not understanding the gravity of what she says, accuses him of sexual abuse, his life is shattered in a moment.
Because his life is such an ordinary one, he doesn’t take the accusation that seriously, knowing that his friends will rally round, but that is when his life as he once knew it disintegrates.
It’s a devastating tale of what happens to someone when people support a specific point of view without considering any of its consequences. But also, it’s a reminder that in a world where paedophilia is such a scourge, the opposite is always possible.
How does someone plead innocence when accused by the innocent? “Children don’t lie,” says one of the spectators, but we know that’s not true. At a very young age they don’t understand the impact of what they are saying – the implication of accusing someone wrongfully – and that’s what makes it such a dangerous moment.
Also, when people decide something has happened in a particular way even when pointed in another direction, it’s tough to make that U-turn. Twice the victim tells her parents that she made a dreadful mistake, but the story has run its course and they would rather ignore the truth than lose face for damning someone who doesn’t deserve it. It’s easier to play denial than confess that they were duped by their young child.
That’s the world we live in. People are often reluctant to face the consequences of their deeds and the herd is easily swayed against someone who was once their best friend forever.
What has happened to “but he could never commit such a horrendous crime”? It’s something that’s happened through the ages. A little mass hysteria is great to take you away from the troubles of your own life as you focus on those of another’s.
The Crucible was a great example of that, so was the popular Swedish movie, but here we move into a more contemporary world where the politically correct thing to do is also the easy way out.
Much of the movie centres on the young father’s life and Mikkelsen’s quietly baffled performance has you rooting for the underdog. As much as he is determined to regain his life, he is convinced that people will do the right thing and rally round his innocence. He’s that naïve and it is exactly that exuberance he used to share with the children under his care. In the end, even if the slate is wiped clean, will he ever remove all the doubt? It’s a tough yet topical morality tale.
If you liked As it is in Heaven or The Crucible, you will probably like this one.