Mads for it
Cert
ANOTHER ROUND
12A ★★★★★
There’s a chapter in Quentin Tarantino’s new novelisation of Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood which describes how stuntman Cliff Booth fell out of love with American movies after experiencing the horrors of the Second World War.
To him, they suddenly felt “stubbornly immature and frustratingly committed to the concept of entertainment for the family”.
Those words made me think of this wonderfully grown-up Danish Oscarwinning film and the news that Leonardo Dicaprio’s production company had secured rights for a Hollywood remake.
Dicaprio, a Tarantino favourite, is a great fit for the Mads Mikkelsen role but will the dark Scandinavian heart of the film survive in puritanical, family friendly Hollywood?
This film begins with history teacher Martin (a brilliant Mikkelsen) mumbling to bored students in a Copenhagen classroom. At a dinner with three fellow teachers, he learns of a theory that a small amount of alcohol can calm nerves and boost creativity.
As all four men miss their fearless younger selves, they agree to conduct a purely scientific experiment. With the use of breathalysers and booze-filled plastic bottles, they will secretly maintain a blood
alcohol level of 0.05 per cent across the working day. The initial results are startling. Martin becomes an inspiration, music teacher Peter ignites the passion of a choir, and PE teacher
Tommy boosts the confidence of an adorable klutz called Specs.
When the men increase their percentages of blood alcohol, we suspect it won’t end well. But what makes Thomas Vinterberg’s film so refreshing is its refusal to moralise. Behind the provocative premise is a touching and wise drama about fading passions of middle age.
It builds to a very un-hollywood ending that is sad and triumphant in equal measure. Hopefully, Dicaprio won’t just send Martin to rehab.
Behind the provocative premise is a wise drama about fading passions