Just Another Love Story: A Fast-track Thriller
‘Just Another Love Story’ is a movie from Denmark and very similar to the noir genre of films of the 1940’s. A fast-track thriller, the movie narrates story of a faulty cop who is tangled between his devoted wife and the negative woman. But there is a small catch here; the woman does not realize her dark side as she is a victim of amnesia and that is the same time when you sit up and look for more.
Cast: Anders W. Berthelsen, Rebecka Hemse, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Charlotte Fich, Dejan Cukic, Karsten Jansfort, Flemming Enevold, Bent Mejding, Ewa Fröling, Josephine Raahauge, Timm Vladimir
Rating: 3.5/5
Writer and Director: Ole Bornedal
Language: Danish (English subtitles)
Film Duration: 1hr 44minutes
The male lead of the film Jonas (Anders W. Berthelsen) is a family man who will be leading a happy life with the woman of his life and two blessed kids working as a homicide scene photographer in the capital city of Denmark. Life turns for him when he meets with a freak accident; while his car was stationary another vehicle rams his’ and speeds to crash with another car. Julia (played by Rebecka Hemse) who is the driver of this particular car gets badly injured. Julia’s family mistakes Jonas to be Julia’s fiancé Sebastian when he pays a visit to the hospital.
This Sebastian is Julia’s new fiancé from Vietnam and he was supposed to arrive a little later. And that moment transits Jonas into a dual life without much of a choice and also beyond his control to take charge of the situation because of the twist in the story. Julia is unable to remember and develops poor eyesight, and her parent’s confirmation compels her to believe that Jonas is but Sebastian. Jonas, thereafter, is greeted as family much to the joy of Julia’s parents who give him a blank check.
The story definitely does not end there because one of the main features of a noir story is its moralistic quotient. If you happen to betray your wife you need to pay!
You have no scope to escape from the ‘punishment’ even if the wife is unaware of the other woman who could hardly be criticized for the entire happening. Sadly, Jonas had no option but to accept the dual role.
The director Ole Bornedal is also the writer of the film, and unlike the conventional noir films, the movie’s pace is set faster and the story is cleverly crafted that brings out the contradictions and the complexity, which does not require mentioning. The climax throws a series of surprises but finally they seem to be logical.
Jonas’ partner is adorable, accompanying Jonas on his work; photographing the crime scenes and deals gory violent scenes with light-heartedness. The plot of the movie revolves around peculiar observation that makes it different.
The movie is one among the best thrillers since months; the other being “Tell No One”, which is also from Europe. What makes the movie appealing is just that the actors are not familiar to us. The movie has an edge in terms of characterization that is processed with detailed analysis.
The film is also free from unnecessary special effects and action scenes, and in spite of all that it does not derail the plot. There is one though the film could have avoided; the skin show. Apart from this the movie will certainly push you to the edge of the seats.
