There is sometimes a sense that the international title chosen for a film’s festival run and subsequent (hopeful) global release adds meaning to the domestic moniker, and that is definitely the case with Lilja Ingolfsdottir’s Loveable (Elskling), first unveiled as part of Karlovy Vary’s Crystal Globe Competition, and likely to enjoy a healthy amount of success among Scandi-philes on the festival/arthouse circuit. The Norwegian title refers primarily to a scene where the female lead signs a birthday card meant for her partner, her elskling (“darling”). The English one alludes to the larger theme of the film: was she ever a loveable person?
“Can you tell me how you first met?” says an off-screen voice (later revealed to be the couple’s therapist) in the opening scene. Maria (Helga Guren, in her first leading role) goes on to explain how she was dealing with the end of her first marriage and having to co-parent two young children when she met Sigmund (Oddgeir Thune) at a party. The two eventually connected, but all is not well seven years later, mainly because Sigmund is constantly away for work and Maria is exhausted as a result. She takes it out on him, at which point he initiates the discussion about divorce. This causes Maria to go on a metaphorical journey of self-rediscovery, as she looks back on the relationship and whether it was a healthy one to begin with.
The subject is heavy, but that doesn’t stop Ingolfsdottir, making her feature debut, from being playful with the tropes of on-screen depictions of relationships and their dissolution. Most memorably, she is cheekily on-the-nose with her song choices: a montage of early passion is accompanied by a Swedish tune saying “Do you think we’ll see each other again? Do you think we’ll live together?”; the morning after the first break-up talk features the French classic Ne me quitte pas (“Don’t leave me”); and a later flashback gleefully shows Sigmund singing a Norwegian hit titled Optimist.
The story may be told from Maria’s point of view, but the director empathizes with both characters, gradually highlighting how neither of them is exempt from the shades of gray that characterized their marriage, and the actors convey that feeling very well, with Thune being particularly impressive in that he has just as much of an impact despite (deliberately) having a smaller role. Sigmund also gets to deliver the sharpest line in the script, so devastating it pops up again when his soon-to-be-ex-wife imagines him saying it during sex: “Be prepared for me leaving this relationship.” That the phrase is uttered in Norwegian, a language known for its somewhat sing-song quality, makes it even juicier.
The nuance in the characters’ rapport is probably what attracted the attention of producer Thomas Robsahm, who also worked on Joachim Trier’s acclaimed The Worst Person in the World and is once again drawn to a story featuring the various layers of a relationship, albeit in a slightly less humorous manner this time around. Ironically, given the subject matter, it’s the children who are somewhat adversely affected, as there are hints of intriguing subplots (the teenage daughter threatening to move back with Maria’s former partner) but not enough screentime devoted to what could have added another perspective to complement that of the two parents.
Director & Screenwriter: Lilja Ingolfsdottir
Cast: Helga Guren, Oddgeir Thune, Heidi Gjermundsen Broch, Marte Solem
Producer: Thomas Robsahm
Cinematography: Øystein Mamen
Production design: Lilja Ingolfsdottir
Sound: Bror Kristiansen
Production companies: Nordisk Film Production, Amarcord
World sales: TrustNordisk
Venue: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Crystal Globe Competition)
In Norwegian
101 minutes
