A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010)

Norwegian comedy about a convict readapting to life outside of prison. This is well crafted comedy. It has an understated and very dry black humor.Reminds me of Fargo but this one is actually funny. From the boss who talks nonstop to the landlady who gets "paid" for her meals.It is intelligently directed and will not irritate you with clichés or boring sequences. To boot you get to immerse yourself in a industrial seamy part of Oslo.This is black humor at its best.RECOMMEND

Stellan Skarsgård is an accomplished Swedish actor with international experience; he owns his role as Ulrik. The full IMDb storyline captures quite well the setting from which the plot evolves. The title is an excellent choice because that is what he is. At peace with his past but not repentant, because who he killed had it coming. He puts up with unsympathetic friends and family members, except his son who has to break ties with him at the prompting, insistence of his future stepdaughter and her family. Still he takes it in stride. He had respect in prison and now he doesn't but he prefers freedom anyway. He endures humiliating circumstances for a while, but we do see that he is not a pushover when he comes to the defense of a co-worker being abused by her estranged lousy half. The only moment when you understand that for the right reasons he could be violent again, without breaking a sweat; he is committed to do better and what he can to stay on the right path.This movie is about character development, one well worth watching. The movie is slow enough for an English or French speaking audience to follow the subtitles with little problem. It will not be interesting for the audience seeking action or comedy or profound drama. I liked it and recommend it if you have simply seen Stellan Skarsgård in other roles where he spoke either English or French. It is his first role as being somewhat of a gentle man.

Having seen many brutal films in my 50+ years of movie-watching (around twenty thousand films or more), I finally get to see the film in which the truly bad man, the business-man, get shot. It was a very long wait indeed. The devil lies and deceives - so it is said in the fairy-tale by the Grim Brothers (When Death was the Godfather or Der Gevatter Tod). We are witnessing a time in which more and more people understand who "the devil" really is: the entity that causes man to raise havoc by deception and intimidation. Intentionally or unintentionally (let's give the story-teller "poetic license") this film delivers clarity on whom we should truly be apprehensive about. The fool with the gun is to be blamed but truly dangerous is the intimidating deceiver in the background, going about his everyday usual "business" in which everyone is a mean to his goals and no more than that. Intentionally or unintentionally - this is still a masterpiece.

Stellan Skarsgard has seldom been better than in this rather ho-hum tragicomedy which strives for laconic existentialism Kaurismäki-style, but settles for just slightly above average amusement in the end.The first half provides some solid chuckles, but all the likable character portraits on display lack subtlety. Later on, the narrative grows repetitive and some scenes feel forced.But the pic's worth a look and it is still preferable to those hyperactive gangster movies that guys like Guy Ritchie are churning out.6 out of 10 love-hungry landladies