Berdreymi (2022)

Berdreymi (2022). 2h 3m | Unrated

“A captivating, often brutal dip into the lives of four 14-year-old boys in roughly 2000-era Iceland. Addi, the one with a conscience, takes badly bullied Balli into his group of friends after feeling a twinge of compassion at seeing him being mistreated. The acting from the four first-time protagonists is exceptional. Award-worthy. I can easily see them being named joint best actors at festivals (I saw it twice in Berlin).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eÁskell Einar Pálmason as Balli delivers an understated masterclass in nervous glances, twitches and despair. Itu0026#39;s all the more impressive to see how, as the character eases into life with his first friends, his body language changes, almost imperceptibly.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBirgir Dagur Bjarkason may well take the plaudits with his turn as Addi, he carries the film on his young shoulders and doesnu0026#39;t put a foot wrong, whether joining in the violence or experiencing the dreamlike (often nightmarish) visions that give the film its Icelandic name.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSnorri Rafn Frímannsson has less to do as Siggi than the others but has charisma and backs the others up as his character does on screen.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut for me it is Viktor Benóný Benediktsson, as Konni, who delivers the star turn. A thug known as The Animal, his Konni is able to deliver the aggression needed to make his character believable, punching and swinging wildly through the film in an often terrifying manner. But one by one the layers are stripped away to reveal – not that he would admit it – the scared boy trapped in the young manu0026#39;s body. Such a broad performance would test actors twice his age but he aces it. They all do.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA note on the fight scenes, which through a combination of beautiful camera work and expert, almost balletic choreography come across as some of the most realistic I can remember. This isnu0026#39;t filmic violence, these are kids kicking lumps out of each other. Harsh, cold, real, shocking.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne criticism comes in the pacing at the end and an inclusion of possibly too many story strands that donu0026#39;t really have chance to justify their place in the final film. It feels a bit like a 2h30 film that a producer has demanded becomes 2hrs. If thatu0026#39;s the case I hope a directoru0026#39;s cut will follow – I would gladly spend all day in the company of the fascinating characters that director Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson has so expertly and lovingly brought to the screen.”