ANOTHER BIG ROLE FOR MADS MIKKELSEN – Leonard Maltin’s film Crazy

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen has great charisma – and great taste, as he appears in one extraordinary film after another. Another round unites him with the author-director Thomas Vinterberg and the co-author Tobias Lindholm, who have worked together so memorably The hunt. Once again, their joint efforts give us a provocative film on a subject many people can deal with: drinking.

Mikkelsen plays a high school teacher whose life has become boring: he no longer communicates with his wife and bores his history students at school. Then he and three colleagues read about a scientific theory that humans are born with a blood alcohol deficiency. It assumes that if you can maintain an alcohol content of 0.5%, you will function more “normally” and more successfully.

Since they are teachers, they choose to record their progress to give legitimacy to this whimsical experiment, but it doesn’t take long before they see tangible results. Mikkelsen becomes energetic and focused in his classroom – to the surprise and delight of his students – and reaches his wife for the first time in years. All four men benefit from a little enthusiasm as they start their day.

The challenge, of course, is to keep the scientific aspect of this investigation. Each of the friends follows a different approach with very different results. But Vinterberg and Lindholm never lose their footing: the story takes surprising turns, both humorous and sad.

Another round is a breath of fresh air for those who are hungry for intelligent entertainment. It’s invigorating and totally believable thanks to Vinterberg’s approach (in collaboration with cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen) and the appearances of its main characters: Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang and Lars Ranthe. Here’s a toast to everyone.