Denmark, directed by Adrian Shergold, tells a story of second chances. The film follows a man named Herb, played by Rafe Spall, who just can’t catch a break. Herb is unemployed, lives in a dingy apartment and has a son he never gets to see. After a particularly bad streak of luck, just as he is ready to give up, he learns about the luxurious Denmark prison system. With nothing left for him in Wales, he smuggles himself to Denmark with the intention of robbing a bank and getting himself caught.
Since the film is only an hour and a half long, Herb is the only character that really gets fleshed out—an extra 45 minutes devoted to developing the character of Mathilda—Herb’s love interest—would have been nice. However, the film does a brilliant job under the given time restraints. Non-Herb characters are flat, but they serve to give us more insight, and ultimately make us care more about Herb. The film balances comedy with drama nicely; the dry humour is not jarring and fits the emotional themes of the film well. A lot of the humour is derived directly from Herb’s misfortune—it’s funny at first but as we start to care about him and the stakes escalate, the tone of the film, along with Herb’s luck, subtly shift. We really start to worry about Herb and a weird sort of gripping tension sits below the surface as he finally finds something worth holding on to.
Life can feel like an uphill battle sometimes, and Denmarkreminds the viewer that if things are to get better, you must make change happen yourself. Packed full of unique moments of charm and hilarity, this is a film worth seeing. There are some unexpectedly profound lessons to be learned from this bittersweet comedy. It will make you laugh, it will make you care, and it just might get you to make a change.