Review of After the Wedding (2006) by Mark A — 30 Sep 2009

A powerful, highly emotional, multi-layered story that plays out with total honesty. The film is a study in contrasts, between the abject poverty of working with orphans in India and the almost obscene wealth of a successful business man in Denmark.

It sets the highly idealistic Jacob (Mads Mikkelson) against the very rich and very powerful Jorgen (Rolf Lassgard). It pits the needs of the family patriarch against the needs of his family. And it juxtaposes the security of the familiar against the sheer terror of facing the unknown.

Like an onion, each layer of the film peels away to reveal even more layers of complexity as it unfolds. The acting is superb! The two aforementioned actors are complemented by Sidse Kbudsen as the wife of Jorgen and Stine Christiansen as their delicate daughter.

The cast was so well matched, one could easily believe in the tangle of relationships and the fallout as each new connection was exposed. The script constantly amazed with its ability to reveal that which we realized we already knew without the viewer being conscious of the knowledge until that moment.

And the actual filming was often breathtaking. The use of extreme close-ups, especially of the characters' eyes, served to illuminate the complex emotions that were being just barely held in check.

Susanne Bier, the director who also wrote the story from which the screen play was adapted, has delivered a masterful film that relies on honest emotions to tell its story, and great entertainment.