'The Commune' actress Trine Dyrholm is the only reason to see film
Thomas Vinterberg鈥檚 鈥淭he Commune鈥� is about a gaggle of people who deserve more than the relatively conventional movie in which they appear. Set in 1975 in a gentrified coastal suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, it initially features Erik (Ulrich Thomsen), an egomaniacal college lecturer in architecture, and his TV newscaster wife, Anna (Trine Dyrholm).
With their 14-tear-old daughter, Freja (Martha Sofie Wallstr酶m Hansen), they decide to move into Erik鈥檚 inherited spacious family home and, with the help of friends, create a commune 鈥� to help pay the rent, mostly, but also because they want to experiment with a new way of living. For a while, the place is bohemia central, but soon the usual power grabs arise, not to mention a disruptive new addition: Emma (Helene Reingaard Neumann), a pretty 24-year-old student of Erik鈥檚 with whom he has taken up big time.
At first Anna attempts to be OK with this arrangement, but gradually 鈥� too gradually, it seemed to me 鈥� her woe and anger get the better of her. Erik is such a fat-headed jerk that the movie鈥檚 psychological dynamics are lopsided in the extreme. Also, Dyrholm鈥檚 extraordinary performance is conspicuously better than Thomsen鈥檚. She鈥檚 the best 鈥� the only 鈥� reason to check out 鈥淭he Commune.鈥� Grade: B- (This movie is not rated.)聽
