This harrowing Danish drama, loosely based on the true story of Danish serial killer Dagmar Overbye, has been nominated for an International Feature award at the Oscars. I have described this as harrowing in my opening sentence for good reason and a brief precis of the plot will explain why.
It is set in 1919 and stars Vic Carmen Sonne as a young seamstress called Karoline who’s had no word from her husband after he went to war. She has been evicted from her apartment and taken lodging in a damp, squalid guest house. Things briefly seem to be looking up for her when she begins to spend time with the boss at her factory and when her husband surprisingly returns, she rejects him because he has been horribly disfigured and she sees a better life for herself with her new man.
But, after she falls pregnant, his mother forces him to break up with her and also sack her. After, a failed self abortion attempt, she meets a woman called Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm) who says she supplies unwanted babies to couples who cannot have them. Karoline starts to work for Dagmar but stars to suspect that Dagmar is killing the babies rather than getting them adopted.
I cannot fault any of the performances, Magnus von Horn’s direction or Michał Dymek’s evocative black and white cinematography. But Dymek’s screenplay, written with Line Langebek is almost unremittingly bleak. Karoline’s existence is completely bleak, the season appears to be permanently winter and most of the characters depicted are unsympathetic. That all makes it a slog to watch, and I became anaesthetised to the horrors shown.
The Girl With the Needle, can bee seen in cinemas, can be bought to watch at home on video in demand services and is also available to view for free to MUBI subscribers.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10