A couple who has founded a women’s health start-up find their relationship unravelling during a pitching retreat in Ernst De Geer’s sly satire on individualism and conformity, The Hypnosis.
The film recently made its bow in Karlovy Vary as part of the Crystal Globe competition and its blend of awkward and goofy comedy paired with its multivalent commentaries on the social dynamics at play throughout would suggest its likely to find admirers at festivals and beyond, particularly those with a weakness for uncomfortable situation comedy.
The duo at the film’s centre are Vera (Asta Kamma August) and André (Herbert Nordrum), partners in business and life who are the co-founders of a new app designed to raise awareness of women’s health issues. They’re a fairly affluent pair, who work well together albeit that André has a habit of speaking over, or making decisions for, his other half. They’re progressive types, whose relatively privileged background comes to bear when Vera’s mother pulls some strings to get them into a selective pitching workshop called Shake Up where they’ll be amongst several start-ups being coached by the influential Julian (David Fukamachi Regnfors) before being introduced to potential investors. Before they leave, Vera visits a psychotherapist for help kicking her smoking habit, but comes away with an additional sense of self-empowerment which manifests as a thorough lack of social inhibitions.
Kamma August manages the transition well; her Vera goes from a wallflower who is principled but lacks the confidence to stand up for herself, to someone with scarce regard for the impression she is casting on others. Although there are a few scenes that begin to hint at the change – she’s slightly more assertive with her mother, and her first interaction with the group at Shake Up is looser than its prior iteration. In any case, her swing to someone lacking any social awareness is quite considerable, and the actress’s performance holds it all together. She’s excellent in the few early scenes in which she bites her tongue and submira, but even better as her behaviour becomes less socially acceptable while she remains oblivious to people’s displeasure.
There is a moment of exemplary cringe comedy when Vera interrupts a drink André is having with Julian. André is describing his response to a book that Julian recommended when Vera interjects that he had previously said it was boring and that he never even finished it. The balance between the two leads is finely poised in that we can both empathise with the embarrassment that has been undeservedly heaped on André, while we also appreciate the skewering of his pomposity and the unmasking of the bare-faced lie he told. As much as social dynamics might be the main target here, start-up culture and entrepreneurship are given equally sly treatment.
Kamma August and Nordrum play off one another well, particularly after Vera has undergone the therapy. Nordrum is tasked with the straight role and, as such, is the figure required to embody much of the awkwardness and frustrations created by the different actions of his partner. All the while, he is desperately trying to make new connections and secure funding for their app. One scene in which he happens upon an investor dinner and attempts to casually insinuate himself into their conversation is the equivalent of nails down a chalkboard, only outdone by the tension of a climactic scene in which he betrays Vera’s trust. Indeed, that very betrayal leads to a conclusion that packs more of an emotional punch than might be expected earlier in the film.
Far from being a simple film about whether individualism or social compliance are more fruitful avenues to pursue, De Geer and his co-screenwriter Mads Steggers clearly revel in the knottiness of the issue and are keen to expose the significant failings of both approaches for comic and dramatic ends. Vera and André are, in one sense, presented as being in contrast, and Jonathan Bjerstedt’s cinematography regularly casts Kamme August’s face in the light and Nordrum’s facing into shadow. In reality, this is a work about the complex balance that is required to be recognised as an innovator or a free spirit in a world with such clearly delineated protocols. Rather than attempting to summarise the issue, the filmmakers enjoy prodding at the wound, and the film’s ambiguous ending actively undermines any conclusions we might have hoped to neatly draw from it.
Director: Ernst De Geer
Cast: Herbert Nordrum, Asta Kamma August
Producer: Mimmi Spång
Screenplay: Mads Stegger, Ernst De Geer
Cinematography: Jonathan Bjerstedt
Editing: Robert Krantz
Music: Peder Kjellsby
Sound: Håkon Lammetun, Matias Frøystad
Art Director: Linda Elmborg
Production companies: Garagefilm International, Film I Väst AB (both Sweden), Mer Film AS (Norway), Totem Atelier (France)
Venue: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Crystal Globe)
In Swedish, English
98 minutes
