Arctic

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Maria Thelma Smaradottir
Directed by: Joe Penna
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Adventure, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Mads Mikkelsen) is stranded in the Arctic and fights for survival against overwhelming odds.

Review:

Tim: Arctic is an exceptionally good movie, one of the better crafted and memorable movies I've seen in 2019. I've always been a fan of adventure and survival movies and this movie certainly fits into those genres. Nearly the entire movie is Mads Mikkelsen's character against the elements. We've seen movie like this before, but it's the attention to detail and the execution by director Joe Penna (who also co-wrote the script) that helps set this movie apart.

I loved how this story was presented. The movie opens with Mikkelsen's character already stranded in the Arctic, and for some time. We don't get to know his character before seeing the accidental that strands him in this desolate place. The movie opens, and he's already there, already having established routines that he hopes will extend his life and allow him to be rescued. I actually loved this approach. It was novel in that we don't get much backstory, we only learn bits and pieces of what happened previously. It's almost as if the story is saying that everything that happened before doesn't matter. It felt like this was appropriate given the circumstances our protagonist finds himself in. I've never been in an extended life-and-death situation like this, but I can imagine that the past begins to shrink in importance. After a certain amount of time, what happened previously becomes a smaller and smaller portion of your focus. The future feels distant, filled with a mixture of hope and despair. The present becomes enlarged, all-encompassing. Past and future are less important that what is happening right now. It felt like the format of the film embraced that idea. We don't need to know this character's backstory. We need to know he's stranded in the Arctic and is fighting for his life. The film boils it down to that narrow a focus and it works exceptionally well.

Mads Mikkelsen carries nearly the entire movie. It's a stunning achievement. I know it's been done before (Tom Hanks in Cast Away, Ryan Reynolds in Buried, Tom Hardy in Locke), but it's always incredible. Mikkelsen is this movie and it rests firmly on his shoulders. I can't remember if the other character says anything in the film, maybe a whispered line? Or was it just fluttering eyelids? Her contributions are minimal, as she spends almost the entirety of her screen time unconscious. No, this movie is all about Mikkelsen. It's hard to quantify how good he is in the film because he makes it look effortless. You never get the sense that Mikkelsen is acting. The role was quite physical, as much of our time is spent watching him perform the tasks that have kept him alive. Somehow, he makes even the most mundane of chores feel interesting and attention-grabbing. He does get a number of great scenes with close-ups to showcase his considerable talent. I like Mikkelsen- he's been used in a number of different ways over the years, but he's often played villains. He has significantly more to offer than that, and I thoroughly enjoyed him in this role. He grabs your attention early on and never lets it go. You want him to survive.

The movie does a great job of putting the audience in the middle of the Arctic. The film is often beautiful to look at- the desolated frozen tundra comes to life on the screen. The cinematography was quite impressive. It feels like there's a lot to look at, which is impressive considering how much is white. The film does a good job of keeping your attention, of throwing a number of obstacles at our hero. The end of the film is memorable, too. It doesn't quite ratchet up the emotion to the level needed for me to consider this a great movie (like The Grey, for example), but it does end powerfully in a way that you'll think about long after the conclusion of the film.

Arctic is an impressive feature film directorial debut for Joe Penna. He immediately gets on my radar because for a guy who doesn't have a ton of experience behind the camera, this is a surprisingly effective first film. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would highly recommend it to anyone.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Grey, The Mountain Between Us, The Edge, Cast Away, Buried