AIFF 2020: Hope

 Norwegian director Maria Sodahl 's semi-autobiographical film Hope starring Stellan Skarsgard and Andrea Braein Hovig is a dark dive into depression, self-questioning and self-doubt as the protagonist learns the devastating news that she has a metastasised brain tumor which could unfortunately be not operatable. 

Anja (Andrea Braein Hovig) is a choreographer who lives with her much older husband Tomas (Skarsgard) and their kids (both their own but also the ones from Tomas' previous marriage). It is implied that the two seem to have quite a competitive relationship as they are both artists, as well as that Tomas has been rather absent in his family responsibilities leaving all the burdens on Anja's shoulders. When she is diagnosed, quickly after realising that she has headaches and vision problems, the two enter an unstoppable race with time as Christmas is approaching and they do not know how and when to announce the awful news to their kids. 

Anja appears to have it all together; after all, she had experienced a similar nightmare the year before with her lung cancer. All she cares about is how to break the news to her children. Tomas on the other hand seems to tiptoe around her, not wanting to mention anything that will frustrate her but simultaneously showing a - possibly inadvertent - indifferent attitude: for instance he invites strangers for dinner without consulting his wife first. 

We, along with our protagonists, soon realise that neither has the strenth, the patience or the phychological ability to go through all this again. Tomas is not at all apathetic towards his woman and Anja gradually starts to break down; it all hits her too hard: all her life choices ("why was I smoking?"), all her mistakes, the life that she led, her offspring, her problematic relationship which is not even a marriage as they've never had a wedding. We see her lose hope and dive into an uncontrollable whirlpool of depression and anxiety, often lashing out at Tomas for not being what she hoped he'd be. Their problems come to the surface and they seem to want to face them before it is too late. 

Hope is not an easy enjoyable watch especially because it is too realistic. It might help that this is based on Maria Sodahl's own experience but still, it feels like someone has been filming inside a family's house and is showing us scenes that the protagonists would want to forget or hide. Both Hovig and Skarsgard give tremendous, convincing performances making the film hard to watch but still engrossing. Sodahl lived to make this film and this could be considered a spoiler, given how the movie ends, but this does not negate the fact that Hope is an intimate, nail-biting family drama led by flawless performances which prove both its protagonists' talent.

Share on Google Plus