Terribly Happy Movie Review
Terribly Happy Movie Review
Not terrible, not happy.
|
Since I reviewed Hot Fuzz here, then I guess I can get away with Terribly Happy for Horror.com too. It's the same 'fish out of water' creepy crime tale, but with none of the laughs. It's kind of like the original Wicker Man too, but without the song and dance. Fans of subtle horror and uneasy suspense should like it, but be warned: it's a slow burn without much payoff.
Terribly Happy is a dour Danish noir about Copenhagen cop Robert Hansen (Jakob Cedergren ) and how he copes with his new, foisted post as Marshall of a small, remote village. At first, Robert is willing to take his lumps — sometime recently, he suffered a nervous breakdown that's shown in flashbacks and hinted at in telephone conversations with his shaken, estranged wife.
But then Robert begins to question how a town as messed up as this can possibly help his mental health — its inhabitants are paranoid and quirky (think: Twin Peaks, toned down), it's got a lonely bog that acts as a dumping ground for inconvenient sorrows and secrets (it's a "sineater" of sorts), and there's a needy, desperate neighbor woman (Lene Maria Christensen) trying to pull Robert down into the murky depths of her own personal despair.
There are plenty of just-submerged zingers in the film — an eerie, red-coated little girl who pushes her doll carriage through the deserted streets at night; a cat whose meows are almost words; a deserted shop with explicable music blaring from it. And there are some more overt symbols of terror — the iconic crossroads, the bog that drowns secrets, and bloody, gory murder behind closed doors. There's even a moment in which the movie takes on an almost supernatural caste. But when all is said and done Terribly Happy is just a weird little slice of life. Worth watching once (maybe twice), but it's not quite decisive enough to have a distinct impact.
On the technical side of things, Terribly Happy is quite impactful indeed. The cinematography is bleak, blanched, and matter-of-fact, yet it still manages to be striking and artistically beautiful (along the same vein as The Werkmeister Harmonies, in fact). The score is subtle and insidious, and the set decoration is truly masterful. The acting is top notch, justifying Terribly Happy's numerous film festival wins and accolades.
= = =
Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson