ArthouseSchmarthouse’s review published on Letterboxd:
8.5
NowTV
Mads Mikkelsen truly is sensational in Another Round. There’s a scene early on- a crucial scene, involving Mikkelsen’s sadsack character Martin having a birthday dinner with some friends in a restaurant- in which he is basically putting on an acting masterclass with barely a line of dialogue; when he suddenly bursts into tears it is both shocking and incredibly affecting. In a career that has included Bond villainy and Hannibal Lector, it is Mikkelsen’s ability to be so wrenchingly ordinary that is so gripping here (in a similar way to his wonderful, heart-breaking performance in previous Thomas Vinterberg collaboration The Hunt). But there is more to Another Round than a single performance. Vinterberg walks an absolute tightrope here, drawing the audience in with a scenario about four friends attempting to achieve a functioning, permanent blood-buzz which all but screams “light-hearted romp”; although the narrative beats are perhaps not unexpected, the film as a whole ends up being so much more. This is a film about many things: Denmark’s drinking culture, the slippery-slope of alcoholism, the complex issue of male friendship (the gang's awkward reaction to Martin's restaurant break-down is beautifully observed), and mid-life, middle-class depression, boredom and ennui. The fact that he pulls off all of this without making the film feel either flippantly cheerful or condescendingly bleak and judgmental speaks volumes for his skill as a director: this is most certainly not a two-hour tirade against the “demon drink”, a la The Lost Weekend or the recent Ben Affleck vehicle The Way Back. Because Another Round is energetic, ferociously entertaining and scrappily funny, as well as genuinely thought-provoking. It posits alcohol as, on the one hand, a crutch for deeper problems but on the other as a social lubricant that forms the bedrock of many relationships. It also makes the important distinction between alcohol (not bad in and of itself) and alcoholism (definately bad). It is worth noting that, in some respects, the experiment is a success, at least at first: the quartet find themselves more engaged, and engaging, both at work and at home. Life feels good for the first time in a long time and the film does a fantastic job of capturing a life-affirming sense of boozy euphoria, Vinterberg’s up-close and personal hand-held camerawork giving a sense of almost voyeuristic intimacy to the gang’s drinking sessions. But the feeling isn’t one that can last, and like any addicts, more of the product has to be consumed in order to feel the same high- to disastrous effect. Ultimately, alcohol cannot fix the huge, gaping holes in the lives of these men. In this way, Another Round makes sure to offer a nuanced viewpoint (alcohol as both miracle cure and at the same time destructive force), one which actually asks its audience to really think about what they are feeling and why- for that the film deserves all of the praise in the world. Similarly, the characters are well-mapped and three-dimensional: Vinterberg makes no attempt to cover up how sad and somewhat pathetic the four leads are, but at the same time invites such empathy for them in their plain ordinariness and relatability that it is hard not to root for them. And, of course, the final scene truly is as magnificent as everyone says it is: an invigorating, hilarious, truly cinematic burst of colour and movement with Mikkelsen at its center, the ambiguous meaning of which can be interpreted in numerous ways. This really is fascinating, searingly intelligent filmmaking, easily one of the best films of 2020.