Love is all you need

After cornering the market in moody bleak detective programmes, the Danes are now moving into rom com territory and based on this offering they are likely to be as every bit as successful. Love is all you need is a tale of a woman, Ida, played by Trine Dyrholm who is recovering from cancer and discovers her husband is having an affair with a younger woman. And of Philip played by Pierce Brosnan, a widower who has cut himself off from the world emotionally unable to deal with the death of his wife. They come from different worlds, Ida is a hairdresser in a Denmark suburb and Brosnan is an internationally successful businessman working in wholesale.

What they do have in common is that their children, Ida’s daughter Astrid, and Philip’s son Patrick are getting married to each other in Italy. The first time they meet is when Ida prangs Philips car in the airport on the way to the wedding. Not off to a good start for the perspective parents in law. The film starts in Denmark but quickly moves to the idyllic setting of Sorrento where the wedding is set. With some awful side character in Ida’s husband and Philips sister in law the laughs are plenty and what follows is a touching romantic comedy that will melt the stoniest of hearts and make anyone with a pulse laugh out loud. Pierce Brosnan is obviously the big name of the film and he is in fine form and looks to be enjoying himself but the plaudits must go to Trine Dyrholm who finds compassion, depth and comedy in her character that will make you fall in love with her at a time when she is insecure about her life and unsure of where it’s heading.

Following closely behind Trine in the acting stakes is Paprika Steen who plays Brosnan’s awful sister in law Bernadette a woman who is convinced of both her attractiveness and Brosnan’s attraction to her. Steen plays the part to comedy perfection without going into cartoon territory. The rest of the cast provide excellent support. This film has a fun feel to it. The language is a mixture of Danish and English. This works well even if you find yourself sometimes thinking how come the Pierce Brosnan character understands Danish but never speaks it. It could be more tightly directed but this is like complaining of a lone cloud in a bright sunshine day and if anything it’s in keeping with the feel of the fun. Susan Bier is an academy award winner who knows what she is doing so this may be on purpose. A bright sunshine day is what this film feels like. If you want to watch a feel good film that doesn’t have the over syrupy feel to it that a lot of the mainstream rom coms have then go and see this film. But even if you want to watch a moody bleak detective movie go and see this film anyway. It will win you over I promise you.