"Another Round" for Everyone

By: Jack Weber     

       What would you do to feel alive again if you thought that you were aimlessly wandering through life? Another Round (2020) shows the lengths that four men go to to experience that. 

     Another Round is the latest collaboration between actor Mads Mikkelsen and director Thomas Vinterberg after their Oscar nominated film The Hunt (2013). This film is a take on the midlife crisis, and also a graceful portrayal balancing both what it feels like to find happiness and passion again, but also the seductiveness and dangers of alcohol.

The danish film follows a group of four school teachers, particularly Mikkelsen’s character, Martin. Martin is a history teacher who has all but given up. Given up on teaching, hobbies and his family being more of a ghost than a person. 

At one of the four’s 40th birthday dinners, Nikolaj, played by Magnus Millang, discusses a theory by a famous Norwegian psychiatrist that humans are born with a blood alcohol content that is 0.05% too low. 

After a night of drunken celebrations, the group decides to test this theory. Setting rules, such as no drinking past 8 p.m. or on the weekends, and to never let their BAC drop below 0.05% during the allowed times. 

The men all see immediate positive effects. Especially Martin, who becomes more engaged in his teaching and reconnects with his wife and two sons. Going from solemnly reading a history textbook to his class, to interacting with his students and playing games that challenge what they think about history and how they should view the world.

Nikolaj is now a more present husband. Tommy, played by Thomas Van Larson, is able to bonds with the youth soccer team he coaches. And Peter, played by Lars Ranthe, connects with his students and becomes more empathetic to them. 

Wanting to push the limits of their bodies, the group agrees to increase their BAC level to 0.1%, but their lives take a turn for the worse. Their drunkenness begins to negatively impact their lives, with the group becoming visible alcoholics, and they agree to end the experiment. But for some, it doesn't stop there.

There is one scene that I believe communicates what Vinterberg wants you to walk away with. Martin, who used to be a jazz ballet dancer when he was young, spontaneously begins to dance in the crowd of graduates while the song, “What a Life” by Scarlet Pleasure plays. Something he refused to do in the beginning of the film. This dance signifies Martin’s embrace of life without needing something to push him there, and what makes him happy. 

A film like this shouldn’t work as well as it does, but that’s thanks to Vinterberg’s directing. He doesn’t need to show you every drink the men have throughout the day or when they go all out. The shakiness of the handheld camera and sporadic focus pulls communicate how intoxicated they all are. 

But when Martin is dancing, that camera is clear, focused and sharp. Instead of quickly swiping the camera past his face to see a glimpse of a smile, the camera follows Martin as he runs and leaps around. 

While the film doesn’t really ever take a firm stance one way or another on drinking, showing the positive and negative effects of the experiment and other forms of social, celebratory drinking in Danish youth culture. The third act of the film does become predictable once the experiment begins, but it doesn't diminish its impact.

Mikkelsen shines in this film, with the camera pressed to his face quite a few times, his eyes become more expressive than his face in most instances. Communicating the deeper emotions of sadness and loneliness all the way to euphoria in his dance.

Ultimately, the film serves as an excellent portrayal of midlife crises, redefining what living is and the dangers of alcohol. All while letting Mikkelsen and Vinterberg show off their talents in acting and directing. 


News You Can Use

Film - Another Round

Year - 2020

Genre - comedy/thriller

Rating - R

Director - Thomas Vinterberg

Writer - Tobias Lindholm

Starring - Mads Mikkelsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe, Thomas Bo Larsen, Maria Bonnevie, Helene Reingaard Neumann, Susse Wold

Country of Origin - Denmark

Language - Danish

Available on - Amazon Prime Video, Tubi, Roku Channel and Plex

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