Anders Thomas Jensen, the Oscar-winning screenwriter and director from Denmark's Zentropa Studios, brings us The Last Viking, a slapstick-violent black comedy that is well-acted but relentlessly unfunny. The film, a shaggy-dog story of gruesome silliness, features Mads Mikkelsen cast against type as Manfred, a nerdy loser with learning disabilities and a history of abuse.
Plot: A bank heist and a delusional Beatle
Manfred's tough-guy brother Anker (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) robs a bank and, before being arrested, gives Manfred the key to a railway station locker containing the loot. Anker instructs him to retrieve the cash after the police leave and bury it in the woodland behind their family home, where their father used to brutalize them. Fifteen years later, Anker is released from prison to find that Manfred has retreated into a delusional state, believing himself to be John Lennon. Manfred is too upset by disbelief to remember where he buried the money.
Anker, with the help of a rogue psychiatric nurse, rounds up three other dysfunctional individuals who believe they are Ringo, Paul, and George. He reunites the band in the remote Danish forest, hoping that performing a couple of numbers will calm Manfred enough to recall the burial spot.
Execution: Humourless violence undermines premise
The premise is admittedly funny, but the execution is wearying. According to the review, Mikkelsen's crazy physical comedy initially amuses, but the film consists almost entirely of goofy, humourless violence. Jensen has many skills as a filmmaker, but comedy is not among them. Sofie Gråbøl appears as a martial arts enthusiast who now owns the family home.
The Last Viking is in UK and Irish cinemas from 26 June and is showing in Australia as part of the Hurtigruten Nordic film festival.
