GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2020 - Denmark

GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL 2020

Director Adrian Shergold's Denmark is best described as bittersweet. A dark, albeit often comedic, venture that stars the terrific talent of Rafe Spall as a man so down on his luck he turns to desperate measures to solidify his future in the darkest and deluded of manners.

Spall has often gone under the radar as a leading actor. Churning the ranks as the often comedic sidekick in his early career, he has reinvented himself as one of the prominent rising stars of British cinema. To see him in the all-important starring role showcasing his range in such genre pieces as The Ritual, Just Mercy and now Denmark, as the brilliant centrepiece of what makes the film click, is a welcoming sight.

The two things that make Denmark work is the outstanding range from Spall coupled with the layers of Jeff Murphy's brilliant screenplay. There is nothing here that sparks a defining moment of cinema — however, it is the basics that are so well done that end up utterly captivating the audience. The weighted heartache of Rafe Spall’s Herb is exquisitely handled with a wonderful balance of comedic yet dark tone. The result forms this compelling flow of ferocious fire of tragedy and trauma, yet is engulfed in a flicker of not only hope, but the strength to acknowledge the characters unknown and arguably lost place in the world surrounding him.

This sentiment never feels stretched or hollow. The downward spiral arc of Spall's Herb feels organic and authentic. When it hits the lows that it does, the film emotionally connects with expert harmony — courtesy of how Spall crafts Herb in his overly palpable anguish but the simmering and hidden agony that is slowly but surely destroying him. 

Furthermore, cinematographer Ulf Brantås brilliantly captures the majestic atmospheric prowess of the titular setting. The juxtaposition caught between the stretched loneliness of the small Welsh village and the exultant intimate setting of Denmark is brilliantly and aptly executed.