THE EXCEPTION
Directed by: Jesper W. Nielsen
Starring: Danica Curcic, Amanda Collin, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Lene Maria Christensen, Olaf Johannessen, Magnus Krepper, Simon Sears
Four women work together at a small NGO in Copenhagen that specialises in investigating and exposing genocide. When two of them receive death threats, they suspect a Serbian war criminal; but then they start suspecting and turning against each other.
The Exception is a very handsome looking Nordic Noir which explores the fractures developing in the relationships between four co-workers. That's not surprising considering director Jesper Nielsen has spent a lot of time working on some of Denmark's prestige tv shows, such as Borgen and Dicte.
Iben and Malene have been friends since school and are now working together at a Non-Government Organisation, looking into accounts of genocide both past and present. We learn that Iben had been kidnapped and held hostage while working in Africa but had convinced one of her captors to let her escape. Meanwhile Malene is suffering from arthritis in her legs which is driving her to distraction. In the office they are close friends with Camilla, but are much cooler towards the latest member of the team, Anne-Lise.
Poor Anne-Lise finds herself ostracized for little to no reason, but when Iben and Malene receive death threats by email from an anonymous source, they initially suspect they might be from a notorious Serbian war criminal they have been investigating but soon enough the women start to suspect Anne-Lise of sending them, as well as tampering with Malene's arthritis medication.
The suspicions lead to erratic behaviour which exposes how messed up everyone actually is. Malene in particular is swept up in delusion, going as far to break into Anne-Lise's house to steal her diary. And when Malene and Iben read excepts from it, it gives Iben pause but drives Malene further into her obsession. However a sudden tragedy makes everyone question what is really going on and how far the culprit is willing to take things.
The film has a very sumptuous look to it. Its scenes are well shot and have a depth of colour and focus that draw you in. It could be argued that very little actually happens for a lot of the running time: for the most part, the film relies on the tension between the characters to drive the story. Affiliations shift when certain revelations come to light, exposing all four women as damaged in some capacity. However eventually a very real and physical danger makes its presence known which helps the film shift gears into a scary climax.
THE VERDICT
THE EXCEPTION is a very adept character study of four women trying to hide their flaws from each other, with the death threats being a catalyst for those cracks in their personalities to be exposed. Its glacially paced, taking a long time to build up to its climactic confrontation and ambiguous epilogue, but I think it just about pulls it off.