The largely unknown cast convince, even if Östlund’s detached visual style – with its off-kilter character-framing – sometimes frustrates.
A challenging and intelligent Swedish drama that still raises laughs.
Ruben Ostlund's largely pointless portmanteau collection of anecdotes about the knock-on effects of human behaviour.
Östlund’s refusal to steer the film in a clear direction – a bit like the coach driver, in his case waiting (perhaps) for an audience admission of complicit human fallibility – makes it a brilliantly sustained tease.
This excellent dark comedy from Sweden.
Despite the emphatic, heavy weather of realism that lowers over the movie, none of it seemed real, but rather a pageant of contrivances.
The motif of the individual against the crowd recurs insistently, unsettlingly and sometimes hilariously, as characters agonise over the right thing to do.
While occasionally involving, a shorter running time would have helped disguise a very slender narrative and generally insubstantial feel.
It's a pawkily amusing attack on Swedish people's conformity and inclination towards reticence and respect for authority, at least when sober.
The behaviour of the characters is fairly universal and the cast of unknowns do creditable, believable work.
There is nowhere near enough dramatic depth to maintain the interest as a full length feature.
Involuntary--Ruben Ostlund profile
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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