Jesper W. Nielsen (director)
(studio)
15 (certificate)
115 (length)
22 January 2021 (released)
20 January 2021
A small Danish NGO that investigates genocide around the world is the setting for this intriguing story of bullying and psychological control that looks to draw parallels with the power and mind games that are the tools in trade of the worst of the world’s monsters.
Anne-Lise (Sidse Babbet Knudsen) is the new person and is having trouble fitting in with the established team of Iben (Danica Curic), Malene (Amanda Collin) and Camilla (Lene Marie Christensen). Whatever she tries she can’t seem to say or do the right thing.
There’s a definite tension with Malene who sees her as a threat to her role and with her seniority she garners support and sympathy.
The strains on the relationships are at first clear cut all against Anne-Lise but it becomes apparent that there are competing forces here to some extent driven by the women’s own situation. Iben is getting over her escape from a camp in Kenya and is haunted by a boy-soldier, Malene has crippling arthritis, and Camilla had a dodgy past lover.
These all come into the mix playing against each heightening tensions that are already taught as accusations fly as to who is the source of threatening emails, ostensibly from a Serbian war criminal they have been investigating. Adding to that Malene’s arthritic pills are tampered with and suspicions are falling on Anne-Lise. Who at first appears to be the innocent victim but is not above keeping secrets and skulduggery of her own.
Adapted by Christian Torpe from a novel by Christian Jungersen, The Exception could be boiled down to a sorry tale of office politics, competitiveness and bullying. The allusions to genocide led by almost cult like figures who can sway a crowd, an audience, or a country to take control for their own nefarious purposes don’t readily gel with the main story as they tend to clutter than inform.
That said to boil it down to its core would be unfair as the aforementioned issues are serious and have the potential to escalate to being really nasty and this is well related.
This is due to director Jesper W. Nielsen drawing out remarkable performances from the four leads each interpreting quite different characters. It’s a testimony to their skill that the viewer develops any sort of sympathy for them considering they are working with a general tone that is fairly downbeat and frigid. Which isn’t helped by a deliberate pace that at times tests the viewers patience.
The story does become a bit convoluted as it goes off in new directions and at times looks padded. Hence the film doesn’t really work that well as an incisive psychological thriller, sometimes having the air of philosophical ramble.
It could look as if I thought this was a chore. It wasn’t by any means, as despite some to the contrivances, there are some good ideas and themes explored here. But it is down to the actors that this works as well as it does.
The Exception will be released digitally across all the major UK platforms from 22 January.