anders thomasjensen, whose extensive credits include scripting susanne bier s oscar winner in a better world. mikkelsen plays markus, a gruff soldier with a crew cut and an unruly beard whose wife, emma, is killed in a train wreck after a fellow passenger gives up his seat. it looks like the set up for a grief stricken drama about morning and loss, with markus s teenage daughter, mathilde, who was on the train with her mum, struggling to find comfort or common ground with her dad. but instead, the film turns into something completely different first, a paranoid conspiracy thriller as the disconsolate algorithm expert who fatally gave emma his seat convinces markus that his wife s death on the same train as a biker gang trial witness could not have been a coincidence and then, as an increasingly crazed black comedy. as markus and three misfit geeks wreak murderous vengeance on the supposed of killers while pretending, for
now, mikkelsen further demonstrates his range in riders ofjustice a totally unhinged offering from writer director anders thomasjensen, whose extensive credits include scripting susanne bier s oscar winner in a better world. mikkelsen plays markus, a gruff soldier with a crew cut and an unruly beard whose wife, emma, is killed in a train wreck after a fellow passenger gives up his seat. it looks like the set up for a grief stricken drama about morning and loss, with markus s teenage daughter, mathilde, who was on the train with her mum, struggling to find comfort or common ground with her dad. but instead, the film turns into something completely different first, a paranoid conspiracy thriller as the disconsolate algorithm expert who fatally gave emma his seat convinces markus that his wife s death on the same train as a biker gang trial witness could not have been a coincidence and then, as an increasingly crazed black comedy.
as markus and three misfit geeks wreak murderous vengeance on the supposed of killers while pretending, for the sake of mathilde, to be experimental grief therapists. if that sounds completely nuts, it s because, well, it s completely nuts, veering between action, drama, socio political satire, and three stooges slapstick comedy not only between scenes, but sometimes right in the middle of a sentence. mikkelsen somehow manages to keep a straight face, which perversely only makes the sense of disorientation worse or better, depending on your perspective. none of which is to suggest that riders ofjustice, which opens and closes with a fatalistic joke about bicycle thieves, isn t oddly entertaining fair. i kind of enjoyed its tragicomic absurdity, even if it does suggest that the danish sense of humour is even more morbidly twisted than we may so far have imagined. riders ofjustice is in cinemas now.
a couple of weeks ago, i declared mads mikkelsen s performance in the oscar winning another round to be the high point in a screen career that ranges from playing a bond villain in casino royale, to starring in the oscar nominated danish historical drama a royal affair, and winning a cannes best actor award for his lead role in the hunt, not to mention breathing new life into the cannibalistic dr lecter in tvs hannibal. now, mikkelsen further demonstrates his range in riders ofjustice a totally unhinged offering from writer director anders thomasjensen, whose extensive credits include scripting susanne bier s oscar winner in a better world. mikkelsen plays markus, a gruff soldier with a crew cut and an unruly beard whose wife, emma, is killed in a train wreck after a fellow passenger gives up his seat. it looks like the set up for a grief stricken drama about morning and loss, with markus s teenage daughter, about mourning and loss,
with markus s teenage daughter, mathilde, who was on the train with her mum, struggling to find comfort or common ground with her dad. but instead, the film turns into something completely different first, a paranoid conspiracy thriller as the disconsolate algorithm expert who fatally gave emma his seat convinces markus that his wife s death on the same train as a biker gang trial witness could not have been a coincidence and then, as an increasingly crazed black comedy. as markus and three misfit geeks wreak murderous vengeance on the supposed of killers while pretending, for the sake of mathilde, to be experimental grief therapists. if that sounds completely nuts, it s because, well, it s completely nuts, veering between action, drama, socio political satire, and three stooges slapstick comedy not only between scenes, but sometimes right in the middle of a sentence.