The Girl with the Needle
Vic Carmen Sonne and Trine Dyrholm are on top form in Magnus von Horn’s Golden Globe-nominated psychological thriller inspired by real events.
Vic Carmen Sonne
Image courtesy of Mubi.
This is the third feature by the Swedish director Magnus von Horn and although he is also the writer of all three, the films could hardly be more different in tone and character. The first two were contemporary tales with The Here After (2015) being set in Sweden and Sweat (2020) a work filmed in Poland. Now with this latest piece he tackles a period story for the first time, opts to shoot it in black-and-white, shares the writing credit with a collaborator, Line Langebek who provided the idea for it, and this time his film was made in Copenhagen. It stands as his most accomplished work to date although the grim nature of it will doubtless deter some viewers who might otherwise have welcomed a work in which the two central characters are both female and are very well played by the actresses concerned.
The Girl with the Needle is an unusual piece given its approach to the true story which inspired it. Here I must tread cautiously because the film’s most central character, Karoline, is fictional and her story unfolds as the main thread of the drama until in time the other main female figure, Dagmar, emerges. It is Dagmar who is taken directly from real life but, if I were to say what made her famous in Denmark, I would be revealing plot developments which should be allowed to take the viewer by surprise. What I can say without taking anything away from the narrative (one which gains from developing in ways that cannot easily be anticipated) is that The Girl with the Needle is a portrait of the harsh life experienced by many living in Copenhagen at the end of the First World War especially those belonging to the working class. Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne, previously seen in 2020’s Godland) is a seamstress working in a factory and living alone since her husband, Peter (Besir Zeciri), has gone missing and would appear to be a victim of the war. Reduced to dire lodgings having failed to keep up the rent for her former more tolerable premises, Karoline is desperate but may have found a solution when the owner of the factory (Joachim Fjelstrup) finds her attractive.
As Karoline’s story develops, we find that it involves pregnancy and an attempted abortion (the latter explaining the film’s title) but, if society seems cool and uncaring, it looks as though Karoline has found a friend when at a critical moment she encounters Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm). However, what follows is disturbingly dark subject matter and the use of distinguished black-and-white photography by Michal Dymek is totally apt not only for the sense of period but for the tone of the piece and for the way in which its look sometimes echoes silent cinema. The film’s unblinking gaze is such that there is no sentimentality in those moments when it involves unexpected touches of human feeling including a conclusion that conveys a more positive note.
One may occasionally feel that the story is slightly manipulated to portray society in such a harsh way but, aided by an adept music score from Frederikke Hoffmeier and good production design by Jagna Dobesz, the film’s downbeat tale avoids the feel of melodrama and that strengthens the implied criticism of society that is inherent in the film’s approach. In asking for sympathy for Karoline and even some understanding of Dagmar, it never softens their characterisations and it is, of course, a further asset that both actresses give such persuasive performances with Sonne adding to her reputation and Dyrholm consolidating hers. The human touches in this film ensure that it does not emerge as exploitative but it would be wrong not to recognise that for some the material may well prove too devastating, too bleak. But, if you can take it, The Girl with the Needle is filmmaking of some distinction.
Original title: Pigen med nålen.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: Vic Carmen Sonne, Trine Dyrholm, Besir Zeciri, Ava Knox Martin, Joachim Fjelstrup, Tessa Hoder, Ari Alexander, Benedikte Hansen, Per Thiim Thim, Søren Sætter-Lassen, Anna Tulestedt.
Dir Magnus von Horn, Pro Malene Blenkov and Mariusz Wlodarski, Screenplay Magnus von Horn and Line Langebek, from an idea by Line Langebek, Ph Michal Dymek, Pro Des Jagna Dobesz, Ed Agnieszka Glińska, Music Frederikke Hoffmeier, Costumes Malgorzata Fudala.
Nordisk Film Production/Lava Films/Film i Väst/EC1 ŁÓDŹ/Lower Silesia Film Centre-Mubi.
123 mins. Denmark/Poland/Sweden. 2024. US Rel: 6 December 2024. UK Rel: 10 January 2025. Cert. 15.