'Copenhagen'
(Gethin Anthony, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Tamzin Merchant, Sebastian Armesto, Olivia Grant, et al / DVD / NR / 2014 / Level 33 Entertainment)
Overview: When the girl of your dreams is half your age, it's time to grow up!
DVD Verdict: After weeks of traveling through Europe the immature William (Gethin Anthony) finds himself at a crossroads in Copenhagen. Not just another European city, Copenhagen is also the birthplace of his father. His best friend Jeremy (Sebastian Armesto) and Jeremy's girlfriend (Olivia Grant) have left him to search the city on his own, so William enlists the help of a local girl, Effy (the oh so brilliant in her role, Frederikke Dahl Hansen), to aid him in his search to find William's grandfather.
Effy's mix of youthful exuberance and wisdom challenges William unlike any woman ever has. As the attraction builds and William truly connects with someone for the first time in his life, he must come to grips with destabilizing elements of his family's sordid past.
Throughout this coming of age film, Anthony (who is British and actually last played Renly Baratheon in the HBO series Game of Thrones) gives a marvelously expressive performance. He allows us to come to care about William without ever softening or falsifying the character. Shot in the beautiful city of, of curse, Copenhagen, Denmark, the film follows 28-year-old William and allows us to believe in him, even at some junctures, justify is thoughts, his choices made for him.
Although it has to be said the turning point in the movie is as the two of them begin to form a budding romance, it's not until William discovers that Effy is only 14 years-old that steps have to be taken to protect him - them both!
Agreed that that is usually a spot to pause the DVD, sit back and wonder aloud to yourself if you really want to see where this film goes, but not here. Because director Mark Raso doesn't ever play to those tasteless outlines of how to bring a movie together.
'Copenhagen' is a daring, beautifully shot film (through the lens of Alan Poon's camera) about two people that will either make it through to the end, in one piece, not judged, or not. It is, in truth, a truly wonderful little film and one you'll definitely look forward to viewing again with friends. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Feature of:
Slamdance Spotlight: Copenhagen (Interviews with Writer/Director & Cast).
www.Level33Entertainment.com
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