Sep 19

Sep 19 TIFF 2020 film review: 'Another Round'

The director and the star of the searing drama 'The Hunt' reunite for the alcohol-soaked Danish drama 'Another Round' (screening at the 45th Toronto International Film Festival).

In short: Four friends, all high school teachers, test a theory that they will improve their lives by maintaining a constant level of alcohol in their blood.

The film opens with a group of utterly carefree students playing drunken games and getting joyfully, irresponsibly wasted. The film then finds Martin (Mads Mikkelsen) and his fellow late-age high school teachers stuck in a malaise of daily mundane monotony. 'Another Round' lives in the gap between youthful partying and the late-stage attempt to reclaim the unencumbered joy of youth.

The film opens with a quote from existentialist philosopher Kierkegaard tying together the idea that youth and love are necessarily tied together. Alcohol is simply the tool that Martin and his friends use to once again access that zest for life. But perhaps another modern philosopher's words better capture the film's thesis. Homer Simpson once famously asserted that alcohol is "the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.” This sentiment is much closer to the film's thesis.

Theoretically the story follows four men just trying to get through the day with some sort of passion or energy - but writer-director Thomas Vinterberg's script is a bit unbalanced, selectively dipping in and out of the four men's lives. History teacher Martin is the obvious main character - a man whose initial boredom and unlocked enthusiasm is absolutely realized by the always brilliant Mikkelsen.

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Along for the ride are Tommy, Nikolaj and Peter. There's almost no need to analyze Peter's character arch - because he doesn't have one. He's in a few scenes. He teaches choir. That's about it - this could have easily been a film about three friends. Nikolaj's arc most parallel Martin's - almost to the point of redundancy. The only memorable aspects of Tommy and Nikolaj's character arcs are their broader and melodramatic moments. This really could have been the story of just a one teacher who decided flirting with alcoholism would better his life.

The script spends more time legitimizing the misguided experiment and not tapping enough into the personal and spiritual effects the "experiment" has on Martin and his friends. Yes, Churchill, Hemmingway and other great luminaries were heavy drinkers who conquered the world - but repeating this idea is just a waste of time. Say it once or find new ways for the characters to convince themselves the foolhardy effort is working.

Alcohol (the lack of it and the excessive use of it) is simply used as a plot tool to address the existential joyless banality of these men's lives. 'Another Round' outright ignores how the these four went from being invigorated young men to dull older men. That evolution would speak to their characters. Ignoring it also implies that their low-key melancholy is less of a personal choice than an inevitability. What does it say about these men that they evolved into boring old men? What does it say about them that they need a bit of liquid courage to rediscover excitement? The film's ultimate conclusion amounts to "don't get so drunk that you can't walk - you might piss the bed."

Final verdict: 'Another Round' hints at examining the listlessness of old age - but the end product is a high-class, prestige cautionary tale about drinking. Or as Homer Simpson once put it: “Homer no function beer well without.”