– Mads Mengel applies Nordic dark comedy to his first feature film, which charts the breakdown of a family event following the arrival of the titular character
Simon Bennebjerg and Trine Dyrholm in The Guest
In the tradition of Nordic dark humour, dysfunctional family chaos and cringe comedy, Danish filmmaker Mads Mengel is making his feature film debut with The Guest, which just world premiered in competition at the 60th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Despite the film’s familiar tonal feel, co-writers Christian Bengtson and Mengel ensure their main characters are sufficiently distinct in both their traumas and their preferences, allowing us to easily access their world. The story’s decidedly simple premise gives way to a decidedly full-bodied black dramedy with several unforgettable scenes.
Karl (Simon Bennebjerg) and Emilie (Mette Klakstein Wiberg) bring their young son to the seaside for a baptism party, only for the event be crashed by Karl’s estranged mother, Vibeke (Trine Dyrholm), who clearly wasn’t invited. Karl clashes with his older sister, Rikke (a deliciously staunch Josephine Park), who sees their mother’s unspecified mental illness in a more sympathetic light. Over the course of just a few days with his child, family and friends, Karl wavers between bringing her back into his life once again and refusing to do so, despite the potential consequences either way.
Dyrholm puts out an incredible performance as the neurotic but deeply loving mother, who steals practically every scene in a film that’s largely built upon perfectly timed situations which reveal the nature of her manic episodes. Vibeke could be taken to have borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder, for instance. But, in the end, the diagnosis is irrelevant: it’s more about the strain it places on her relationships with her kids and family. Mengel inherently poses the thought-provoking question of whether it’s her responsibility to be self-aware of the panic she causes, and, conversely, how accommodating those around her should be.
DoP David Bauer’s frequent and dramatic smash zooms lend the beginning of The Guest an almost deliriously fun sitcom-like feel, which deteriorates as the film goes on and moves from laugh-out-loud uncomfortable to outright serious. The film’s standout moment takes place on the beach, when Karl invites Vibeke to take part in his son’s baptism ceremony, the consequences of which shock the guests. This marks the story’s shift into a more pensive mode, allowing the audience to genuinely reflect on Karl’s plight.
The film ends on a curiously open-ended note, which ultimately feels more daring than Mengel offering a definitive solution to his protagonist’s predicament. A tough decision is made, with love and care, and that might be all we could ask for in a situation such as this, where the audience is also treated to comedy and tragedy in equally beautiful parts.
The Guest was produced by Denmark’s Monolit Film, while LevelK are handling world sales.
