Directed by Jesper Westerlin Nielsen
Screenplay by Christian Torpe
Starring Danica Curcic, Amanda Collin, Sidse Babett Knudsen, and Lena Maria Christensen
Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
Unrated – language, nudity, moderate violence

by Audrey Callerstrom, Staff Writer

The Exception (Undtagelsen), lets you know from its first scene that it wants to tackle heavy concepts. Non-profit employee and former aid worker Iben (Danica Curcic), reads from her book, “The Psychology of Evil,” which details, among other things, a study about the actions of Nazis and whether people are fundamentally evil. Can anyone be driven to acts of extreme violence and oppression? Will we all crack under pressure? The film’s answer is clearly “yes,” and although it has the performers and the budget to make an engaging thriller, it tends to get lost along the way.

The film focuses on four office workers in Denmark who work at a non-profit organization called the Danish Center for Information on Genocide. Iben is close friends with coworker Malene (Amanda Collin), a striking redhead with debilitating arthritis. In a corner is the older, quieter Camilla (Lena Maria Christensen), the office secretary, who largely keeps to herself, but whom Iben and Malene hold in high regard. All three of them clash with librarian Anne-Lise (Sidse Babett Knudsen), who is kept away in a windowless office and not privy to their daily chit chat. She could leave her door open, but Malene reminds her that a draft could irritate her arthritis. Anne-Lise never feels like she’s a part of the office dynamic. The other women aren’t friendly to her, and vice versa. When the other women giggle over YouTube videos, the one that Anne-Lise shows to them fails to entertain.

The Exception argues that acts of evil can bubble to the surface, even from such minor frustrations as not “fitting in at the office.” It’s a stretch, to say the least. It’s not made clear why Anne-Lise even cares. She has a loving family and husband, why does she need the validation of her colleagues as well? The other women are certainly not receptive to her literal style and stoic demeanor, but Anne-Lise fails to brush it off. All of this comes to a head when Iben and Malene receive death threats. Although they both work for an organization that exposes war criminals by name, they have no doubt that the threats come from Anne-Lise. Other strange occurrences start happening. Malene’s arthritis flares up to the point where her knee joint seems to have grown a flesh-colored tennis ball. Screaming in pain, she finds out from the doctor that someone has switched her medications. Camilla appears to be keeping a secret, which Anne-Lise finds out through deceptive means. All the of the women began to suspect each other, although Malene and Iben remain allies.

There are things that this film does well. As an aid worker in Nairobi, Iben was held hostage and forced to fight her way out to survive. As a result, she has severe PTSD, and regularly hallucinates that the child soldier who kept her hostage, Omoro (Likho Mango), is in her home, talking to her. Iben’s experience as an aid worker in a war-torn country is something that the movie downplays, to its disadvantage. It could be its own film. Malene’s arthritis also sheds light on a debilitating condition in a realistic way. We see how it impacts her confidence, such as when arthritis in her hands makes her want to stop in the middle of sex with boyfriend Rasmus (Simons Sears). Anne-Lise and Camilla are left underwritten. The script dictates that Anne-Lise is the villain, but she’s never remotely threatening, and she maintain a frozen look on her face throughout the film. Camilla, meanwhile, remains the shy secretary waiting in the wings.

Perhaps the analogy of what pushes normal people to evil, as compared to crimes of genocide, is something that’s more palatable in the source novel. Here it never gels. What’s the core message here? That bitches be crazy? So your office mates don’t particularly like you. So what? Do what the rest of us do and go to the bar (or in this case, a pub) afterward and vent to whoever will listen. The film also wastes time with excerpts from “Psychology of Evil,” as though we needed a history lesson. A thriller about four women whose line of work involves investigating dangerous war criminals is interesting enough without the heavy handed message. While I don’t think The Exception is a cohesive film, perhaps given the four main characters and central setting, this might translate better into a stage play.

The Exception comes to virtual cinemas today and to other digital rentals on Jan 25.