Review: Another Round

‘It’s always 5:00 somewhere!’  Who among us couldn’t use an adult beverage every once in a while??!!  Why not order, and watch, Another Round??!!

One of the best cinematic villains working today, Mads Mikkelsen, bellies up to the bar as the lead actor in this Danish flick, who’s Dutch name, Druk, literally translates to “pressure”.  While a drink or two can help loosen people up and help them deal with the pressure, how much is too much??!!  Awww…  The eternal question!  And the focus of this film.

Plot – Another Round

Mikkelsen stars as Martin, a middle-aged husband and father of two teenage boys, who teaches history at a Danish Gymnasium (the equivalent of an American High School), and is more than a little bored with life.  Martin’s three closest friends, ALSO, middle aged teachers at the same school, seem to be in a similar rut.

Thomas Bo Larsen plays Tommy, a gym teacher and youth soccer coach, who seems to have known Martin the longest.  Magnus Millang plays Nicolaj, the youngest of the four men, who is married with three young kids.  Lars Ranthe plays Peter, the choir teacher at school, who is hopelessly single.

The foursome head out to celebrate Nicolaj’s 40th Birthday at an upscale restaurant.  One drink leads to two, two leads to three, and so on.  Martin is supposed to be the designated driver for the night, but seems more and more distracted as the night goes on. 

Eventually, Martin gives in and joins the fellows for a glass of whine…  Or two…  Or MORE…

But how much is too much?  Peter brings up a theory by Norwegian scientist/philosopher Finn Skarderud, who says drinking small amounts of alcohol consistently, around a Blood Alcohol level of .05%, brings out the best in a person.

Martin shows up to work slightly drunk the next morning, and finds himself a better teacher to his class, and more attentive father and husband when he gets home from work.  Eventually, the four teachers decide to test Skardrud’s theory, and conduct a scientific study of being drunk at work.

The men indeed find having a consistent BAC of .05% seems to have positive results, but eventually start experimenting with different Blood Alcohol levels.  This is where the train starts coming off the rails.

The Accident

Writer and Director Thomas Vinterberg based this film off of a play he had written, and the life and times of his daughter Ida, who told him stories of about the drinking culture of Danish teens.  The play was supposed to be a comedy, but four days into shooting this film, Ida was killed in a car accident — not by a drunk driver, but one on his phone.

This real life tragedy changed the script on the fly as Vinterberg mourned her death, and the tone of the film changed.

The Good – Another Round

Another Round is a tragic comedy with dramatic overtones.  It’s hard to tell what was shot before Ida’s death, or exactly what changed in the script as a result.  However, the finished film is a fascinating exam of the drinking of teens and adults, and the benefits and costs of doing so. 

Far from a cautionary tale or an afterschool special, this film starts with kids from the school living it up celebrating ‘Lake Week’, a Spring Break sort of celebration, as they party it up and wreak havoc on the population of the city.  We then see the mentally and emotionally absent Martin and his friends turn to alcohol as a means to celebrate, enhance, and eventually complicate their lives.

Mikkelsen’s performance has great range and depth for a character who seems to have checked out at the start of the film.  Each of the four characters experiences highs and lows as a result of their drinking experiment, with the costs and benefits different for each character.

The subtlety of character and story are well done, and while the melancholy and ennui can be thick at times, it does not get so dark as to bring down the comedic aspects of the film.

The Bad – Another Round

Hard to put this in ‘The Bad’ category, but it’s worth noting that the whole film is spoken in Dutch, with no English voiceovers, so the whole film must be viewed reading sub-titles.  This does not distract from watching the film as all of the dialog fits in well with every scene, but it does draw focus from the performances and takes some getting used to.

The Review – Another Round

Another Round has surprising depth and emotionality for a comedy about drinking, and avoids many of the tropes and public service announcement tones you might expect to get in a film of this type.

Mads Mikkelsen delivers an award worthy performance with great depth, without letting his incredible skill for playing dark characters overshadow the light and hope in this character.

As long as you can deal with two hours of subtitles, order up Another Round and check out a great flick that isn’t afraid to laugh, or cry in their beer!