Presented by Scandinavian Film Festival
The hottest film ticket in town saw the first Scandinavian Film Festival’sonly planned screening of The Keeper of Lost Causes sell out.The film is based on the first of a quartet (currently) of utterly gripping books by Danish novelist Jussi Adler-Olsen. Kvinden i Buret (“The Woman in the Cage”) was published in the UK as Mercy, but the film takes its name from the US published version of the book.
A passionate and impetuous police homicide detective Carl Mørck (Nikolaj lie Kaas) is reassigned following a shooting-gone-wrong. The newly established Department Q is a bureaucrat’s dream, however Mørck is no bureaucrat, and with his imposed assistant, the knowing Assad (Fares Fares), the pair starts to unravel a year-old disappearance of a young politician, Merete Lynggard (a difficult role very well crafted by Sonja Richter).
The three leads are well cast. Kaas and Fares succeed in making their characters, coming from very different places, develop into a convincing team. Look out for glimpses of Mikkel Boe Følsgaard who excels in the non-dialogue role of Uffe Lynggaard, damaged brother of the missing Merete, and Peter Plaugborg who is frighteningly convincing as Lasse.
Directed by Mikkel Norgaard, the slick acting matches the quality of this edge-of-the-seat story. Clever cinematography from Eric Cress (the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) uses light to impressive effect, and, without giving too much away, the excellent slow motion car scene might make you think twice about what you pack on your next road trip.
As expected, there are subtle differences between the book and screen versions and, also as expected, with the screenplay by Nikolaj Arcel (the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and A Royal Affair), this is immaterial. The script is tight; heavy with sarcasm, and with droll interactions and suspense a-plenty, it keeps a cracking pace.
The Keeper of Lost Causes is grim and dark; at times made breathing difficult, and did not alleviate my fears about my next trip to the dentist. It’s a suspenseful Danish thriller mixed with wit and interesting characters that I can’t wait to spend more time with.
The next film instalment, Fasandræberne (“Pheasant Killers”) aka The Absent One, is currently in production. Meanwhile, I’ve locked the doors and turned on all the lights to commence reading Journal 64, Adler-Olsen’s fourth Department Q book…
The Keeper of Lost Causes is in Danish, Swedish and Arabic with English subtitles, and is Rated MA15+ for strong themes, sex scenes and violence. It screened as part of the Scandinavian Film Festival exclusively at the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and is now screening as a general release.
Reviewed by Gordon Forester
Twitter: @GordonForester
Rating out of 10: 8
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