Fresh from her Oscar win, Denmark’s Susanne Bier follows up the exceptional In A Better World with this jolly, colourful crowd-pleaser that belies a more serious and sensitive aesthetic at its core.
In A Better World’s Trine Dyrholm is back, here deftly inhabiting the role of a hairdresser battling cancer, who’s also a soon-to-be single mum. Her offsider, Brosnan, similarly pitches in as the bruised, tightly wound head of a fruit export business.
The pair’s respective clans provide a series of character arcs that, while predictable, prove charming and heartwarming.
Brosnan’s first wife succumbed to cancer, and he undoubtedly draws on this as Philip: his most measured performance in years. Equally, Dyrholm proves irresistible as the long-suffering Ida, whose triumph over adversity proves to be the film’s highlight.
Verdict
A deceptively light-hearted romp that blends English and Danish with a touch of Italiano, for a lively, likeable view of the complexities of life and love.
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