Nobody does wry, borderline-depressive humor better than the Scandinavians, so “A Somewhat Gentle Man” comes as no great surprise. But this poker-faced comedy is certainly welcome.
It’s a collaboration between Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard (“Mamma Mia!”) and Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland. They made a film in 2000, “Aberdeen,” that is something of an unsung classic in recent Euro-cinema, in which Skarsgard gives an amazingly rich performance.
In “A Somewhat Gentle Man,” we open with the weary-looking Ulrik, played by Skarsgard, being released from a prison. He’s been in jail for 12 years, but his re-entry into society is aided by his small-time crime boss, who arranges a job as a garage mechanic and a place to stay.
This apartment is in the spare room of the boss’ fearsome sister, a no-nonsense type who brings around supper of steamed cod every night and stays in Ulrik’s room long enough for a passionless quickie on the bed while a Polish reality-TV show plays.
Not a pleasant combination.
Ulrik also is pressured to kill the informer who set him up and he takes a fling at reuniting with a now-adult son he left behind.
Eventually, the wounded but attractive woman (Jannike Kruse) who runs the office at the garage will probably warm up to Ulrike, but the movie’s not exactly a romantic comedy.
Through it all Stellan Skarsgard lumbers, a big man in overalls, one step ahead of his ponytail and his past.
Because this kind of performance is so deadpan, it’s not always easy to say why it’s so funny, but Ulrik’s imperturbable reactions to the strange things going on around him are indeed the stuff of black comedy.
Ultimately, “A Somewhat Gentle Man” has something traditional up its sleeve, which is where it falls into line with most movies about men remaking their lives after being released from prison (even “Sling Blade,” in a way). Some shot at redemption will be offered up, and Ulrik will take a swing at it.
How this works out is very droll and frequently funny. Fair warning: There’s a good chance you may never want to eat steamed cod again, if you ever did in the first place.
“A Somewhat Gentle Man”
A wry black comedy about a prison parolee (deadpan Stellan Skarsgard) whose quiet attempts to fit back into society result in some painful couplings and a few decent shots at redemption. Borderline-depressive Scandinavian humor gets a good workout in this poker-faced, nicely acted film. In Norwegian, with English subtitles.
Rated: Not rated; probably R for nudity, subject matter
Showing: Varsity
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