Queen of Hearts

This seemingly peaceful family story develops over time into a chilling psychological drama. Northerners should patent such films for how bravely they can deal with dark themes. Trine Dyrholm played the erotically daring title role with unprecedented conviction, and she could not have played the insensitive Anna any better. It should be noted that Gustav Lindh and Magnus Krepper kept up with her throughout and also gave excellent performances. (85%) (13/08/2021)

A masterfully grasped, serious theme of abuse of power and domination, which has a functionally-set directing concept - after a distant introduction, in which the protagonist experiences feelings of dissatisfaction and boredom, the film turns into subjective filming when passion awakens in the protagonist... and inevitably leads to a hypothermic conclusion in which Anna will make several difficult moral choices without any hope of a happy start. Queen of Hearts is urgent in making simple moral judgments impossible. Anna's choices may be reprehensible, but they are also understandable. Trine Dyrholm plays this character perfectly and her acting really dominates the screen. It is a pity that the conclusion crumbles and falters and the final tragedy and closed arc are no longer as impressive as some (not as fatal) of the consequences before them. I very much appreciate the broadening of the perspective of the MeToo debate on the topic of vulnerable and naive masculinity. (16/01/2020)

It’s better to watch this film without knowing any details of the story beforehand. The first fifteen minutes at least work like a slightly mysterious introduction to the background and the trio of main characters, who turn out to be a pretty interesting and psychologically unusually open gang. The female lead is a characterless villain who turns the lives of others upside down, but we can understand her and think freely about her actions. And it doesn’t matter whether you are a man or a woman, the main motifs are strong and comprehensible enough for everyone. 80% (16/01/2021)

What I thought the first half an hour of Queen of Hearts is that it’s a decently directed interlude to a “milf-stepmom something” video on Pornhub. And there really are porn scenes, with surprising details and naturalism. However, the irresponsible whim of the fifty-year-old married woman, which at first seems to be mere entertainment for a bored missus, turns into a family drama of unexpected proportions with an impact on everyone involved. The Danes are once again psychologically accurate in how they tackle the topic of the dark side of human nature, this time shown in a dangerous manipulative woman. The main character’s counter-attack when she is cornered by her husband is the most open admission of the most typical failing of the fairer sex. The film is surprisingly open and direct for today’s world. I’m kind of surprised that Trine Dyrholm wanted such a role. (29/09/2019)