A One Mann’s Movies review of “Unmoored” (2023) (from the London Film Festival).
“Unmoored” is a new Scandi crime drama whose premiere I was lucky enough to see at the London Film Festival. Not only that, but I was also able to grab an interview with the director Caroline Ingvarsson which you can find embedded in the post below the trailer. (What a charming and lovely person she was to talk to as well! A real privilege.)
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Maria (Mirja Turestedt) is a Swedish TV journalist with a special passion for unearthing stories about marital abuse. But her latest story has her reexamining her own marriage to the overbearing Magnus (Thomas W. Gabrielsson), currently also accused of rape. She doesn’t like what she sees.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This has not yet been rated by the BBFC or the MPA. I would expect it would be rated a ’15’/R for violence and language).
Talent:
Starring: Mirja Turestedt, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Kris Hitchen, Anna Próchniak , Sven Ahlström, Marta Zmuda Trzebiatowska.
Directed by: Caroline Ingvarsson.
Written by: Michèle Marshall. (Based on a novel by Håkan Nesser)
Twitter Handle: #unmoored_film.
Marie (Mirja Turestedt) and Magnus (Thomas W. Gabrielsson) off for an eventful walk at the Polish coast. (Source: DESMAR).
“Unmoored” Review:
Positives:
- “Unmoored” has all the intrigue and suspense of a Scandi thriller but is also a bit unusual.
- Firstly, it is not all about the action (there is a murder, but you never “see it” per se), but more about the psychological effect on the protagonist, who seems partially in denial of what they have done.
- Secondly, the film spends very little time in Sweden, but travels to Poland and then the UK (Exmoor). It’s quite a shock to watch a Scandi film and then be suddenly driving on the left of the road through familiar landscape!
- I’ve not noticed the lead, Mirja Turestedt, in her previous work (amongst other work, she was in the Swedish version of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”). But here she delivers a really excellent performance. Triumphant; nervy; scared; she nails them all.
- I really liked the romantic sub-plot within the UK segment featuring the poor bemused Mark (Kris Hitchen). Mark, in his own way, is equally unmoored. The situations feel real and a sex scene is discreetly done whilst still being very erotic. The script paints Mark as deliciously ‘normal’: Maria’s dog is called Castor: “Named after Tin-Tin’s butler?” asks Mark, (who is actually Nestor, with the classical reference going over his head).
- Not that I’m swayed by a pretty face you understand, but the Polish actress Marta Zmuda Trzebiatowska is utterly gorgeous in this. Magdalena is supposed to be something of a sex goddess for Magnus to fawn over (there’s a necessary reference to her voluminous ‘tits’) and Trzebiatowska is perfectly cast! (She’s also a feminist’s nightmare… “My job is to make the house look nice and me look nice (for her husband” she says.)
- The cinematography by Michal Dymek( is excellent, with Exmoor looking windswept and lovely.
Negatives:
- No spoilers, but the story arc is less than satisfying for the viewer. It’s inevitable, but you still feel a little deflated since you’ve shared and invested in Maria’s personal odyssey.
Triggers
The film does have an element of drugged rape and marital abuse that some viewers may find triggering. Maria interviews the rape victim: (They say “it’s not rape if I don’t remember”. “Even if you speak out you can be buried alive”.)
Summary Thoughts on “Unmoored”
An intelligent and engrossing film, I really enjoyed this one. Recommended.
Trailer for “Unmoored”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI4GUAUEYdQ .
Interview with Caroline Ingvarsson
You can watch my interview with Caroline Ingvarsson, the director of “Unmoored”, here.
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