Two vengeful half-sisters find themselves embroiled in a battle between
the kingdoms of Sweden and Denmark.
Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Mikael Håfström
Starring: Sophie Cookson, Emily Beecham, Claes Bang, Alba August, Adam Pålsson, Ulrich Thomsen, Kate Ashfield
Tragedy plus time equals comedy, or so they say. Director Mikael Håfström and writers Erlend Loe and Nora Landsrød have taken this maxim to heart with Stockholm Bloodbath, which reimagines the events leading to one of the most infamous
incidents in Scandinavian history as a sub-Tarantino/Guy Ritchie romp
filled with bawdy humour, anachronistic music and slang, and Goodfellas freeze frames. Well, up to a point. Roughly halfway through,
the film abruptly changes tone as though it were handed over to an
entirely different creative team, resulting in a medieval mess with no
idea what sort of movie it aspires to be.
The titular incident occurred in 1520 amid Denmark's subjugation of
Sweden, with dozens of members of Sweden's ruling class executed under
charges of heresy. Håfström's film reworks it as a Kill Bill knockoff, complete with vengeful female heroines who cross the
nicknames of their enemies off a hit list.
When Anna's (Sophie Cookson) wedding is interrupted by
soldiers of Danish King Christian II (Claes Bang), her husband
is kidnapped and the rest of her family massacred. All except her mute
foster sister Freya (Alba August), a skilled warrior who
resembles an extra from Lord of the Rings. Anna insists that Freya train her to fight, and the two vow to kill
Christian and his henchmen.
The first half of Stockholm Bloodbath plays out as an often stylistically annoying but moderately
entertaining period revenge thriller. The freeze frames with character
nicknames flashing onscreen and the use of modern language
("motherfucker" feels particularly out of place in 16th century
Scandinavia) grate, but the action is quite intense and doesn't hold
back on portraying the brutality of the era. Cookson and August make
for an engaging bickering buddy pairing, with the latter convincing as
a highly skilled Amazonian.
It's when Anna and Freya are separated that things start to rapidly
collapse. Anna finds herself taken into the court of the recently
widowed Queen Christina (not to be confused with the later Swedish
Queen of the same name, as famously portrayed by Greta Garbo), played
by Emily Beecham as a deadpan leader making the best
of her situation with spa days and girly makeovers. Much of the
material featuring Christina plays like a poor cousin of Yorgos
Lanthimos's The Favourite, especially when King Christian is reluctantly welcomed into the
Swedish court and Bang hams it up as the most foppish villain this
side of Shrek's Lord Farquad. Despite the best efforts of Beecham and Bang, the
humour never quite lands. Freya meanwhile spends much of the movie
imprisoned, and August's presence is greatly missed.
It's in the final act, as the titular massacre draws near,
that Stockholm Bloodbath hints at the gripping historical epic this might have been had
it been played straight rather than for cheap thrills. It's centred on
the idea of religious fanaticism, of a leader who ignores the laws of
the land because he believes "God's law" is the only true law. At a
time when many of our political leaders seem more motivated by revenge
than patriotic service and are keen to appeal to Christians, it's
rather chilling to watch this play out. Or at least it would be if we
could take it seriously. Unfortunately, by the time Stockholm Bloodbath decides to make some serious and timely points we've lost
interest in its parade of cartoonish stereotypes.
Stockholm Bloodbath is on
US/CAN VOD from November 8th. A UK/ROI release has yet to be
announced.
