One Way To Denmark
blue finch film
Denmark, the latest directing effort of Adrian Shergold, dumps us immediately into a loser lifestyle in a dying, Welsh-occupied town somewhere unknown. His welfare has been cut, he can’t contact his son and his neighbour does nothing but play aggravating, poor quality music. It’s safe to say that Rafe Spall’s portrayal of Herb is one of a man with the world stacked against him. As the dialogue is keen to point out, people like Herb live and die without anything to show for it, and so Denmark feels both like a story of redemption for a life never had but also a believable tale of picking up the pieces and starting over.
Spall’s leading performance is marvellous. Herb is a flat, muted character, but it feels rather intentional. His lack of drive in life combined with his generally miserable existence are countered nicely. He reunites with old friends, hatches a plan to get arrested in Denmark and soon spirals into a rather typical yet wholly convincing love with both Denmark and Mathilde (Simone Lykke), a bartender working opposite his hotel. We never manage to gain any further insight into the relationship between the two, although we get to see some rather vague highs and lows in the brief time we spend in their joint company.
Because there is such great chemistry between these two characters, it’s relatively easy for the viewer to slip into the comfortable and easily identifiable pace of the narrative structure. There is nothing out of the ordinary to note, yet a handful of moments in Denmark put it ahead of much of its predecessors and contemporaries.
The cinematography, for the most part, is simply marvellous. It is well shot with superbly framed camerawork. There is a general competency that brings out the best in the beautiful surroundings Herb finds himself ignoring rather frequently. A palette of grey surroundings, lingering medium camera shots and generally unappealing, bland streets make for a fitting backdrop to our dejected leading man. There’s a definite mellow feeling to the film, with its leading character not engaging us with a likeable portrayal, but an understandable one. Through some relatively humorous build-up and brisk pay-off, we’re presented a purposefully flawed protagonist, one that makes Denmark all the more believable.
A far stretch better than most of Spall’s recent outings, Denmark provides a great leading performance with an engaging premise. It is rather uplifting, considering how grim and drab its setting and build-up can be; Denmark is a lovely film about a man finding his footing in a foreign country. Quite the bittersweet piece, it all comes together with a surprising maturity and confidence, peppering in a handful of hilarious moments throughout but never giving up on its sincere message: it is never too late to find a fresh start in life.