Off kilter trip into violence
The Trip (16+, 114 mins) Directed by Tommy Wirkola Reviewed by James Croot ★★★
Just under a decade ago, a wave of Scandinavian cinema captured the world’s attention.
A kind of Nordic answer to Guy Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino, movies like A Somewhat Gentle Man, Headhunters and Jackpot had a similar swagger and liberal approach to language and violence, as their pitch black crime comedy tales unfurled.
The tales were filled with memorable moments, hidden depths and unexpected twists, often borrowing ideas from classic Hollywood hits like The Thomas Crown Affair.
Norwegian film-maker Tommy Wirkola (who had a global hit of his own around the same time in 2009’s comedy horror Dead Snow) tries to recapture the zip and verve of those flicks with this sometimes nasty little spin on Mr and Mrs Smith.
While it certainly offers lashings of dark humour, the overall result is somewhat mixed, as the story struggles to balance sometimes stomach-churning visceral violence with an excoriating look at a long moribund marriage in its final death throes.
‘‘We’ve had our ups and downs,’’ admits Lars (Aksel Hennie) to a colleague, as he reveals plans to whisk her away to his father’s cabin for the weekend. However, this is no romantic reconnection rendezvous. ‘‘She wants to go on a hike by herself,’’ he continues, with a strange glint in his eye. ‘‘I’ve told her – it’s dangerous.’’
When we then meet actor Lisa (Noomi Rapace), it’s clear Lars is up to something.
‘‘If I go anywhere, it will be to the fridge or the television,’’ she declares.
After a drive spent bickering, Lars is surprised, upon their arrival, to find the cabin’s security system disabled. That though doesn’t deter him from getting settled and sparking an argument about the best way to cook steak. The acrimony then continues during a particularly heated game of Scrabble, tensions not helped by Lisa’s attempts to start using words from her native Sweden.
Deciding it’s time to end the charade, he prepares to deliver the hammer blow, only to be tasered before he can strike. Lisa, it seems, has her own plans to finalise a permanent divorce.
What then follows is 90 minutes of occasionally hilarious, sometimes gruesome, slightly queasy, but certainly inventive cinema. Wirkola’s throw-everything-against-the-wall sensibilities bring to mind the early works of our own Sir Peter Jackson, especially when a lawnmower makes a late appearance.
There are also echoes of French duo Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s oeuvre (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) in the surrealness and larger-than-life characters on display.
The always watchable Rapace, currently lighting up the big screen in the chilling Icelandic horror Lamb, and former Headhunters’ star Hennie do their best to sell the antipathy between the pair, even as they have to join forces to stave off a larger threat.
Both suffer a number of indignities, to the extent, at one point, you could be forgiven for thinking you’ve stumbled onto a Scandinavian remake of Michael Haneke’s Funny Games.
And it’s that slightly off-balance, rather than its clearly aimed for offkilter, delivery that just leaves you wondering what you’ve got yourself into, rather than feeling like it is a fully enjoyable experience in the vein of those earlier, clever crowd-pleasers.
Best viewed in Norwegian with English subtitles, The Trip is now available to stream on Netflix.