Another Round
I’ve never been a drinker in any way. I’ve had drinks, sure, but it’s not a necessity for me in order to have a good time. It’s not for the main characters in “Another Round,” either, at least not at first. But as the film progresses, they cannot go without it, and something that began as a fun little “experiment” begins to have big consequences for them in their lives, some bigger than others.
The last time director Thomas Vinterberg and Mads Mikkelsen collaborated on a film was for the terrific thriller, “The Hunt.” In that film, which I will write about at some point, Mikkelsen plays a man in a small town who is accused of something horrible, and he is ostracized for it. Here, Mikkelsen’s character, Martin, is a high school history teacher who seems to be just walking through life. He has a wife and two children, but personally and professionally, it seems as though he has just gotten in a rut. The first image we see is of a group of teens doing what is known as the “Lake Race,” where they race around a lake with beer, taking drinks along the way. We then see a school meeting with the principal warning of trying to curb this, for fear it would have a negative impact on the students participating. One night, Martin has dinner with Tommy (Thomas Bo Larsen), Nikolaj (Magnus Millang) and Peter (Lars Ranthe) for Nikolaj’s 40th birthday, and they begin to have a discussion about a supposed study that claimed that man’s natural state is intended to have a 0.005% Blood Alcohol Content, and they decide to do an experiment to test that idea, while also limiting themselves to daytime drinking, meaning nothing after 8pm like Hemmingway.
“Another Round” is both about the personal dangers of alcoholism, but also studying a mid-life crisis kicked into overdrive. Movies and TV shows have portrayed mid-life crisis-es in largely comedic terms- buying motorcycles or sports cars, dating women half their age- but while “Another Round” is very funny at times, especially as these guys get their feet under them in terms of their alcohol intake, this is probably as authentic a look at that process as we’ve seen. Each character responds differently to the experiment, although much of the focus is on Martin. At first, he seems to be more engaged as a teacher, and more honest in his family life, but when you start to think about what his lessons are entailing, and what’s going on at home, the cracks begin to show, and like with his other friends, you see how the downward spiral is progressing for them. Vinterberg and co-writer Tobias Lindholm keep things moving at a brisk pace, and have come up with a wicked dark comedy that is entertaining, but when it stings, the movie really stings, and there’s a story thread resolved in the most quietly devastating manner possible. “Another Round” is both a cautionary tale, as well as one of the most joyously silly films of the year.
