Review of Troubled Water (2008) by Walter M — 10 Aug 2015

In "Troubled Water," Jan(Pal Sverre Hagan) is eligible for parole. So, of course it would help if there was a job waiting for him on the outside. Luckily enough, a church needs a part-time organ player which he is inside jail. Unluckily enough, they have already filled the position. Heartbroken, he manages to play well enough in an impromptu audition to get the job, very much impressing Anna(Ellen Dorrit Petersen), the young priest. And as a going away present, Jan's fellow inmates deliver one last beating.

"Troubled Water" wants to intelligently and thoughtfully say something about guilt, redemption and forgiveness but instead comes across as too forced and contrived to be entirely successful, especially as regarding a certain Simon and Garfunkel song. Still, the movie has its moments and an intriguing structure where the first half ends on a cliffhanger which is resolved in its second half as seen through another character's eyes. The second part and therefore the movie is carried by a tremendous performance from Trine Dyrholm.