A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Hypnosis” (2023) (from the London Film Festival).
Original Norwegian title: Hypnosen.
The last film I reviewed – “Fallen Leaves” – was a Finnish comedy. Here we stay with Scandi-comedy, but this time from Norway. But “The Hypnosis” is a very different style of comedy.
Once again, I saw this at the Film Critic screenings prior to the opening of the London Film Festival.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Andre (Herbert Nordrum) and Vera (Asta Kamma August) are developers of a female health app, Epione. With a professional – if not 100% truthful – patter, the pair attend “Shake-Up!” – a week-long development workshop run by “pitching specialist” Julian (David Fukamachi Regnfors). This culminates in the opportunity to pitch to potential investors. But prior to the event, Vera has attended a hypnotherapy session to quit smoking. The hypnotherapist wants to do “radical work” by ‘focusing on her inner voice’. But this has a marked change on her personality.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This has not yet been rated by the BBFC or the MPA. Given the adult nature of some of the humour, I would expect it to be a 15/R).
Talent:
Starring: Herbert Nordrum, Asta Kamma August, David Fukamachi Regnfors.
Directed by: Ernst De Geer.
Written by: Ernst De Geer, Mads Stegger.
Twitter Handle: #TheHypnosis.
A stressed Andre (Herbert Nordrum) and Vera (Asta Kamma August) sharing breakfast. (Source: Garagefilm International).
“The Hypnosis” Review:
Positives:
- The comedy here is of the cringey, watch-through-your-fingers variety. Lovers of Ricky Gervais’s style of TV comedy (e.g. Extras, Derek, After Life) will feel at home here. As the scenes evolve, you KNOW where things are going to go and preemptively clench your bowels! The film’s finale features a scene that you will either find hilarious… or gross… or both! (The girl sat next to me audibly gasped and exclaimed “No!!”)
- Viewers familiar with attending business conferences and giving presentations will find some of the situations satirised here painfully familiar. The problems of presenting without a working projector; the social pain of ‘drinks receptions’; getting quizzed on “data usage”; the cringe-inducing pain of forcibly raising an issue no one else in the room agrees with!
- The two leads play off each other wonderfully and make a believable couple, albeit a couple under intense stress!
- Julian, as the trainer, is also a well-realised character. “Your presentation was an amusement park if nervous gestures” he tells Andre.
Negatives:
- I can see some finding the comedy not to their personal taste, particularly when it “goes there” in the finale.
- Compared to “Fallen Leaves” this is a far more stress-inducing watch for a comedy!
Summary Thoughts on “The Hypnosis”
Another fantastic Scandi-comedy that I enjoyed very much. This one is partly in English – the ‘language of business’ – and partly Norwegian with subtitles. But it is very funny in any language.
I can’t see, as yet, a confirmed UK release date for the film, so stay tuned.
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Trailer for “The Hypnosis”:
The LFF trailer for the film is here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ewly4S93TmU.
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