Hard-hitter rooted in reality

A teacher becomes the target of mass hysteria after being wrongly accused of sexually abusing a child.Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt is vailable to stream on Amazon Prime. Review by CAMERON BLACKSHAW

THE Hunt is a modern masterpiece of suspense. Approaching its 10th birthday, the Oscar-nominated Danish drama whipped up a small storm on the festival circuit back in 2012. It isn’t the most well-known of recent films, but The Hunt’s unflinching take on its subject deserves more widespread attention. The film tells the story of Lucas (Mads Mikklesen), a nursery teacher who lives in a tightknit rural Danish town. Divorced and single, Lucas’ life looks up when his estranged son (Lasse

Fogelstrøm) tries to move back in with him while he also finds potential love in a co-worker (Alexandra Rapaport). However, a shocking lie places Lucas at the centre of a mass hysteria within the community. The young daughter of his best friend Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen) accuses him of sexual misconduct, and Lucas is slowly and violently ostracised by everyone he’s ever known.

The Hunt’s power comes from how its characters handle the situation. Everything that they say and do feels so shockingly natural. The simple lie told by Klara (Annika Wedderkopp) is set up cleverly by the story, with little instances that add to the believability of the circumstances. Writer/director Thomas Vinterberg’s set-up and execution of the tough story is pitchperfect and how rooted it is in reality adds to its searing tension and drama.

Mikklesen’s performance is terrific. As one of the quieter ones of his friendship group, is it hard to watch how he enjoys the brotherhood camaraderie we see at the beginning of the film and then soon suffer the aggressive targeting aimed at the accused, but innocent, man in the later parts of the film.

He is able to convey all the suitable feelings of anger, fear and confusion that his part entails.

The rest of the cast is great too, with Thomas Bo Larsen adding a powerful force to his turn as Theo, a man torn between his devotion to his family and the trust of his friend.

Lucas’ teenage son Marcus is played by Lasse Fogelstrøm who has one of the most interesting roles within the story. His reactions to his father’s accusations are heart-breaking to watch.

The Hunt’s exploration of the fickleness of human trust is a hard-hitting one. Despite its Danish cultural specificity, especially with the allegory of deer hunting that is continuously referred to throughout the film, it has a piercing universality that won’t alienate any viewers. It’s a good film to revisit, or watch for the first time, with Vinterberg and Mikklesen’s latest collaboration Another Round up for multiple major awards this year. Just make sure you’re prepared. The Hunt is not an easy watch.

You’ll be pondering its shocking climax for days afterwards.

The Hunt is now available to stream on Amazon Prime.

The Hunt (15)

Running time 1hr 30min

Rating: *****