We’ve finally moved beyond the Quentin Tarantino ripoffs. The independent crime movement has moved toward a more stylish approach, where the look of the film is manipulated through post-production tools. This is a great way to experiment and find your style as an artist, but it is a bother when the story doesn’t rank up.
In Ole Bornedal’s "Deliver Us From Evil," he is not exposing the immoral polices of the Catholic Church but testing the morality of two Danish brothers. Lars (Jens Andersen) is a lowlife truck driver who accidentally kills a woman while driving. He frames an African refugee who has mental problems.
Most of the movie takes place during a festival where emotions are starting to stir up. Johannes (Lasse Rimmer), Lars’s brother, continues to be ashamed by Lars, but now he’s more worried about his actions. Tension begins to rise as people find out what happened and start to become endangered.
The movie starts off with coolly juxtaposed dialogue, and the discovery of the body is really impressive. Then the movie loses interest. The plot stalls without any interesting character development, and the last act becomes ridiculous.
The most memorable aspect to the movie is the look. The Netherlands are perceived with draining colors and a hopeless atmosphere. Everywhere they go, there's a draining hue of blue, which works to inform the town’s sick mindset.
Eventually, the themes of revenge and xenophobia become actualized in a way that is less consistent with the world and more about trying to make a point. It allows for more creative film tricks, but as a story, it lacks the attention to pull off an effective point.
The DVD has three featurettes: A very short one about the score, another one about the characters of the brothers, and the best of the set, a half-hour one about the filming of the movie.
Film: 3 Yaps
Extras: 3.5 Yaps
(Unfortunately, I can't find an English-language trailer. Here it is in Danish.)