‘The Hunt’ a harrowing look at what mistrust can sow

Film Critic Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) is a divorced kindergarten teacher, recently laid off from a highschool job. He seems to be getting his life back in order when he’s suddenly accused of molestati o n by the young daughter of his best friend, Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen).

“The Hunt” opens with a scene that seems to point WKH fiOP WRwDUGV Iun IDPLOy GUDPD UDWKHU WKDn the paranoid brooder it is. Lucas and friends skinny-dip in the local lake as san Morrison’s “Moondance” plays. It’s goofy and silly and just carefree enough to cement a comfortable rug under the audience’s feet before director Thomas sinterberg rips it out.

It’s also quite a clever prologue: if you’re FRPLnJ LnWR WKH fiOP wLWK nR NnRwOHGJH RI WKH plot, you might well be just as blindsided as Lucas.

Directed in a rather deliberate way by sinterberg (he of the brilliant Dogme entry “The Celebration” from 1998), “The Hunt” is maddening and frustrating, but also one of the best fiOPV RI WKH yHDU WKuV IDU.

sinterberg, who co-wrote the script with Tobias Lindholm, takes great care to give every indication that Lucas’ life is on the dramatic upswing. He’s at the beginning of a relationship with an attractive woman (Nadja, played by AlHxDnGUD 5DSDSRUW); LW ORRNV OLNH KH’OO finDOOy JHW custody of his son Marcus (Lasse Fogelstrøm); the kids at kindergarten love him and he’s obviously very comfortable with them.

All of this setup merely means, of course, that there’s so much more for Lucas to lose, and even when predictable, the subsequent fall- out is painful. Like the recent “Compliance,” “The Hunt” relies heavily on the power of sugJHVWLRn, WKRuJK unOLNH WKDW fiOP, DOO VuJJHVWLRn is simply understood and we, like Lucas, are never actually allowed to hear the rumors that fly DURunG, PDNLnJ WKH VLWuDWLRn DOO WKH PRUH trying.

r.S. audiences will probably be most familiar with Mikkelsen from his role as the title character in the recent television series “Hannibal” or as the villain Le Chiffre in “Casino Royale,” but it’s the actor’s turns in the Danish productions of Susanne Bier — “Open Hearts” and “After the Wedding” — that really put him on the international map.

Mikkelsen’s Lucas is stoic and awkward at times — Nadja practically has to beg him for a date — but he’s also a warm person who seems to genuinely enjoy his job, his dog Fanny, and the company of his friends.

The performance, somewhat reminiscent of Dustin Hoffman’s famous turn in “Straw Dogs,” is restrained and beautiful. A small VFHnH DW WKH KHLJKW RI WKH fiOP wLWK KLV GRJ Fanny, taking place in Lucas’ backyard and in the pouring rain, really demonstrates his range as he struggles with all his strength to hold back what seems to be an inevitable torrent of emotion.

The title “The Hunt” is at once a reference to the witch-hunt that grips the town following the fiUVW DFFuVDWLRn (DnG RI FRuUVH, WKH LnHvLWDEOH Salem Witch Trial comparison), Lucas’ hunt to clear his name, and the actual annual deer hunt. The latter is a tool with which sinterberg and Lindholm show sage self-control.

A paranoid narrative revolving around hunting season — an angry and emotional subject when everyone has a gun readily at-hand — this could easily turn into “The Most Dangerous dame.” Instead, the title remains mostly as PHWDSKRU unWLO LW finDOOy, DnG WDuWOy, FRPHV LnWR literal play at the end.

“7KH HunW” LVn’W D fiOP WKDW wDJV LWV finJHU, nRU LV LW D fiOP IRU FDWKDUVLV. ,W’V D KDUURwLnJ look at what mistrust can sow, and the irrevocable consequences.

***1/2 (out of ****); R (brief nudity, sexual content, brief violence); 115 mins.