VERDICT: A simple premise yields increasingly complex results in Marie Suul Brobakke’s dissection of a romantic relationship between two actors rehearsing a scene.
On the face of it, Marie Suul Brobakke’s latest short documentary Study of a Fight, which recently had its world premiere at CPH: DOX, is a relatively uncomplicated affair. Interested in exploring the dynamics of an argument between romantic partners, two actors rehearse one such scene. They run through it in full before returning to the text, tweaking their dialogue, discussing the ebb and flow of their temperaments, workshopping as two actors typically might. What makes watching this for 16 minutes so utterly absorbing is that the two actors are, outside the scene, a couple – and the scripted passage chimes to some degree with their own shared history.
This fact is spoken aloud after their second run-through when Line and Jimmy both acknowledge that the scene is ‘close to home’ for them, but the burst of nervous laughter after their first line reading speaks volumes about the inherent tension that has built in the room during it. Brobakke and her cinematographers allow space for the tension to accumulate organically, and the film feels loose with regard to its form. That is until towards the climax when the editing speeds up, and a montage of different lines and deliveries suggests the numerous iterations of the conversation that have been performed with varying inflexions and emotions.
Throughout this process, Study of a Fight, raises questions about interactions such as these. Initially it highlights the performativity often inherent in such exchanges but as it progresses what becomes liberating is the way the rehearsal scenario allows Line and Jimmy to begin to work through their feelings and frustrations. The use of re-enactment in documentary is often described by participants as having a cathartic effect and here Brobakke’s film almost advocates the power of drama to fulfil a similar function, offering the opportunity for the complexities of a relationship to be addressed by actively working and reworking the nuances of a repeating discourse.
Director, screenplay: Marie Suul Brobakke Cast: Line Brå Johansen, Jimmy Walker
Cinematographers: Sif Lina Lambæk, Biel Andrés, Alexander Saul Producers: Marie Suul Brobakke, Jesper Jack Editor: Laura Andrea Friis Rasmussen Music: Símun Mohr Production company: House of Real (Denmark) Venue: CPH:DOX (DANISH:DOX) In English 16 minutes
