A Hijacking Reviewed by Mark Adams


A tense and intricately shot drama, writer/director Tobias Lindholm’s solo debut feature is a powerful and intensely watchable film as it tackles the high-pressure negotiations over a hijacked ship, dwelling not just on those hijacked but also the team back at home trying to secure their release. The film is a masterful exercise in building tension, never


resorting to quick dramatic tricks and keeping the tone appropriately serious as the clock keeps on ticking. A Hijacking (Kapringen) also reinforces the current


strength of Scandinavian drama. Lindholm wrote for the award-winning Danish television series Borgen, as well as scripting Thomas Vinterberg’s Cannes Competition entry The Hunt, while with Michael Noer he co-directed (and co- scripted) the tough 2010 prison drama R (aka R: Hit First, Hit Hardest). Lindholm goes to great efforts to play down the more


The Perks Of Being A Wallflower


Reviewed byTim Grierson


The Perks Of Being A Wallflower does not have much new to say about adolescent angst or the perils of first love, but this drama’s ability to conjure up the immediacy of teen life in all its agony and ecstasy is so potent that one may not mind the material’s conventionality. Guiding a strong cast through a sometimes meandering coming-of-age narrative, writer- director Stephen Chbosky (adapting his own novel) shows clear affection for his characters, wisely preferring the quiet emotional moment to the overreaching dramatic gesture. Following its debut here, this Summit release will open in


the US on September 21, hoping to attract attention thanks to stars Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & The Olympians) and Emma Watson (the Harry Potter franchise). Its high school milieu is not terribly different from dozens of other teen dra- mas, though, so strong reviews will be needed to help raise the film’s profile beyond those familiar with the 1999 novel. Set in Pittsburgh in 1991, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower


follows shy freshman Charlie (Lerman) as he prepares for high school. An outcast because of his brains and introspec- tion, he soon befriends some quirky seniors, including the extroverted prankster Patrick (Miller) and his stepsister Sam (Watson), who Charlie immediately falls for. Friendship, identity and love are Perks’ central obsessions,


but buried underneath is a secret from Charlie’s past, a dark- ness to which the movie alludes on occasion. While the rev- elation of this secret offers a dramatic third-act twist, it proves to be a somewhat artificial emotional wallop for a film that is far better observing these characters negotiating uncertainty through mixtapes and school dances. Lerman could be faulted for being almost too withdrawn


as the titular wallflower, projecting a sweetness that does not always hint at the character’s hidden anguish. Much better is Watson as his idealised crush, conveying the same sass she provided for Hermione in the Harry Potter films. At the same time, Watson ably suggests the vulnerability and neediness that undercut the character’s sassy exterior. Best of all, though, is Ezra Miller as the charismatic


Patrick, cementing his position after strong turns in After- school and We Need To Talk About Kevin. At one point, Patrick jokes that his life has become as clichéd as an after-school special, and while the same charge could be levelled against Perks in its weaker stretches, the warm rapport between the three leads makes you grateful to be in their company, even if their woes are not particularly novel.


n 18 Screen International at Toronto September 9, 2012


SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS


US. 2012. 112mins Director Stephen Chbosky Production company Mr Mudd International sales/ domestic distribution SummitEntertainment, www.summit-ent.com ProducersLianne Halfon, Russell Smith, John Malkovich Executive producers JamesPowers, Stephen Chbosky Screenplay Stephen Chbosky, based on his book Cinematography Andrew Dunn Editor Mary Jo Markey Production designer InbalWeinberg Music Michael Brook Main castLoganLerman, EmmaWatson,Ezra Miller, MaeWhitman, KateWalsh, Dylan McDermott, Melanie Lynskey,NinaDobrev, Johnny Simmons, Joan Cusack,Paul Rudd


harrowing aspects of the story. The film opens with simple sequences of the ship’s cook Mikkel (Asbaek) going about his work and talking to his wife and daughter, but never actually shows the hijacking of the Rozen, a cargo ship in the Indian Ocean, instead skipping two days forward to see CEO Peter (Malling) discover his company’s vessel has been hijacked. Peter sees himself as a shrewd negotiator — we know this


as a few hours before he receives the call he has haggled with a Japanese businessman to drive down a price — and decides to ignore the advice of the expert (real-life maritime security professional Gary Skjoldmose Porter) brought on board to help handle the delicate negotiations. Over the coming weeks Peter has to haggle with transla-


tor Omar (Asgar), while back on board the Rozen Mikkel and his fellow shipmates must deal with increasingly unpleasant circumstances as they are locked below deck and start to lose hope. The film deftly balances the twin locations of the stifling,


often-claustrophobic ship alongside the plush Danish offices of the shipping company. While the executives wear suits and ties as they try to force a deal, the crew are grim, sweaty and always fear for the worst. Pilou Asbaek (who starred in R) is moving and memora-


ble as the genial chef whose sanity starts to crack, while Soren Malling is equally fine as the shrewd, calm and pro- fessional businessman who feels he must take responsibility for the situation, but is not fully prepared for haggling over men’s lives.


CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA


Den. 2012. 103mins Director/screenplay TobiasLindholm Production company Nordisk International sales TrustNordisk, www.trustnordisk.com ProducersTomas Radoor, ReneEzra Cinematography Magnus Nordenhof Jonck Editor AdamNielsen Production designer Thomas Greve Music Hildur Gudnadottir Main cast Soren Malling, Pilou Asbaek,Dar Salim, Roland Moller, Gary SkjoldmosePorter, Abdihakin Asgar


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