Hope

Maria Sødahl's moving domestic drama reveals that Norway has a great actress in Andrea Bræin Hovig.

Andrea Bræin Hovig

Although the actress Andrea Bræin Hovig is well established in Norway, this film is surely the work that will give her an international reputation. Hope is also our introduction to the artistry of its writer/director Maria Sødahl although in her case it is only her second feature. Between them these two have created a film of rare quality, but its success is not based solely on their contributions. Hope counts as one of the best cast films that I have seen in years.

What Hovig brings to the table is a performance that seems almost miraculous in its subtle authenticity. She plays the film’s central character, Anja Richter, who is nevertheless surrounded by many other figures all of whom are most persuasively drawn and played. Anja, a choreographer, has lived for some twenty years with a theatre director, Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård), who had previously been married. In consequence, the couple share their home in Oslo with their three young children but remain close to the now adult children of Tomas’s married years who have accepted Anja as a second mother. Other significant figures include Anja's best friend, Vera (a lovely performance by Gjertrud L. Jynge) and her father (Einar Økland). The whole cast are admirably natural and to such good effect that Hope offers an unusual combination in that it works as an ensemble piece yet simultaneously gives Hovig a star role. Part of her achievement is to shine so brightly and yet to fit in perfectly with the naturalistic tone of the piece.

Hope is rightly never a showy piece, but it has been made by Sødahl with an assurance that is quietly impressive. It is also due to her that the film feels so compellingly real. Her admirable screenplay was a work which grew out of the fact that she is herself somebody who has survived cancer. Taking place over a few days at Christmas and at the start of a new year, Hope is first and foremost the story of how Anja has to cope with a recurrence of cancer diagnosed as terminal. Details of that experience, so vividly and sensitively portrayed by Hovig, obviously come from Sødahl’s personal knowledge of cancer while other parts of the film are doubtless less autobiographical. That is presumably the case with the film’s other main concern which is the portrait of a couple who, despite their ties, have allowed their respective careers to dominate (Tomas especially so) and have sometimes come close to splitting up. Some critics have compared this film to Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage which was recently readapted for television, but this is less about a couple’s relationship disintegrating than finding its own less than perfect yet not unsupportive level. The tone too is less intense than Bergman’s which could be put down to this being a film made by a woman or simply to Sødahl’s individuality.

Some might wish to argue that Hope is a masterpiece and, if so, I would not question their judgment. If, personally, I hold back from that assessment, it would be down to personal taste rather than any dispute about quality. Hope is splendid enough to remind me of another film about a couple dealing with cancer and that was Ordinary Love starring Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson which came out two years ago. Perhaps even more moving than Hope, it too was brilliantly acted and cast, but there was one major difference: Ordinary Love lasted 92 minutes and Hope lasts for 125. Both films seek elements of consolation and incorporate heartwarmingly positive moments, but, regardless of that, I do find that the issue of cancer when confronted in drama carries a heavy weight. For that reason, I found that the extra running time of Hope meant that it could not mitigate that as well as Ordinary Love did.  Nevertheless, Hope is a very fine piece of work and anybody ready to cope with the subject being treated at this length should be encouraged to seek it out. Discovering the abilities of Andrea Bræin Hovig is an extra bonus, and not a small one.

Original title: Håp.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast:  Andrea Bræin Hovig, Stellan Skarsgård, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osborne, Alfred Vatne, Steiner Klouman Hallert, Daniel Storm Forthun Sandbye, Eirik Hallert, Dina Enoksen Elvehaug, Einar Økland, Gjertrud L. Jynge, Alexander Mørk Eidem, Johannes Joner.                                                                                                                

Dir Maria Sødahl, Pro Thomas Robsahm, Screenplay Maria Sødahl, Ph Manuel Alberto Claro, Pro Des Jørgen Stangebye Larsen, Ed Christian Siebenherz, Costumes Ellen Dæhli Ystehede. 

Motlys/Film i Väst/Oslo Pictures/Zentropa Sweden-Picturehouse Entertainment.
125 mins. Norway/Sweden/Denmark. 2019. Rel: 10 December 2021. Cert. 15 .