For a film that is essentially an emotional drama, Thomas Vinterberg‘s The Hunt is every bit a thriller that will have you pounding your fists in rage, both at the situation as depicted on the screen as well as in some of Vinterberg’s more frustrating storytelling decisions. I didn’t love everything about The Hunt, but even the parts I felt were over-the-top and a bit too much were followed up by such excellence in everything from performance, screenwriting and direction I couldn’t fault the film for long. Vinterberg plays with your emotions in sometimes blunt, yet frequently eloquent ways, turning this into one of the very best films of the year… blemishes and all.
I’d heard mixed things about The Hunt at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, but I wasn’t able to finally see it until over a year later. It was worth the wait. Mads Mikkelsen was awarded Cannes’ Best Actor kudos for his performance as Lucas, a kindergarten teacher in a small Danish town who knows and is loved by just about everyone, until…
Meet Klara (played with sweet innocence by Annika Wedderkopp), a young girl and daughter of Lucas’ best friend Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen). She’s fond of Lucas. He lets her walk his dog Fanny and will occasionally walk her to kindergarten — with his parents’ blessing of course.
One day Lucas is playing with the boys in class and fakes being dead. Klara looks on, you can see her eyes are on the verge of welling with water. Lucas blinks, her face lights up and she runs and gives him a kiss on the lips. Shocked, he quickly jolts upright, sends the kids on their way and lets Klara know that kind of kissing is for mum and dad only. She’s devastated. The day goes on.
All the children have left for home, but Klara remains, waiting for her mother to pick her up. One of the teachers asks if she’s okay. “I hate Lucas,” she says and then proceeds to make up a lie suggesting inappropriate sexual conduct. Lucas’ life is forever changed. A child has told a lie, the nature of which is gravely serious. Lines in society are clearly drawn and there are certainly things you don’t do and what follows is both understandable, infuriating and astonishingly human.
The weight of the film rests on Mikkelsen’s shoulders and Vinterberg and co-writer Tobias Lindholm have given him a lot of heavy lifting. Lucas is a character of a high moral standard and he’s put to the absolute test. Audiences will be punching the air in rage, but at the same time conflicted when considering the other side of the equation. Who do you believe? The sweet young girl or the man whose been close to her most of her life? How well do we know anyone?
As a member of the audience we know the truth, giving us a doorway into the narrative only Lucas and Klara are privy to. We’re met with a story as seen through the eyes of a confused child (she didn’t mean any harm), a tortured man and the community around them, torn by their belief in the word of one over the other.
Mikkelsen is astounding, walking a line of frustration versus simply attempting to exist the best he can amid the hell swirling around him. He brings us into the heart of Lucas early and we sympathize with him just as much as we understand where the rest of the town (thanks to an impressive supporting cast) is coming from, which causes a level of torment in our own hearts.
There are definitely moments where I think Vinterberg goes too far to hammer home his point, but as I’ve already mentioned, those moments are counterbalanced with such grace I was left wracking my brain as to how else such elevated emotional tension could be reached. I came up empty.
Young Annika Wedderkopp as Klara is fantastic and Bo Larsen as Theo is the Danish equivalent of Bryan Cranston in appearance as much as he is in terms of a powerful performance. Larsen’s eyes are just as expressive as Mikkelsen’s and it provides for an astounding final act, all leading to an ending you may or may not see coming, but one perfectly fitting the narrative.
I know The Hunt is likely to find a limited audience due to the fact it’s in a foreign language and Magnolia can only afford so much press, but hopefully word of mouth will gain it some attention and just maybe the Academy will consider Mikkelsen for Best Actor and perhaps even the film for Best Foreign Language feature should it be submitted (I believe it’s still eligible). Either way, it’s a film I strongly urge you seek out, you’ll be glued to the screen for the entirety of its duration.
