David O'ConnellTHE DOOR @ The Festival of German Films
April 22nd 2010 05:11
Grief meets the supernatural in Anno Saul’s strange hybrid film The Door (Die Tur) (2009) starring a dour Mads Mikkelsen in the lead role of a man torn between two parallel universes. He plays David, a successful artist who is having an affair with a neighbour. After leaving his daughter Leonie (Valeria Eisenbart) unattended for the sake of a ‘quickie’, he comes back to find her drowning in the bottom of their pool.
A five year fast-forward finds David in bad shape, still heavily weighted down with the guilt of his parental negligence. Scorned by his ex-wife, Maja (Jessica Schwarz) he stumbles out into the night and upon a strange tunnel entrance near his old home where he returns to mourn his fateful moment of neglect. Continuing along the tunnel he staggers through a strangely-placed door only to discover he’s been transported back in time five years, to a point minutes before Leonie’s accidental plunge into the water. Will he make recompense by saving her this time? Or will history repeat itself and leave him trapped in a torturous Groundhog Day loop of futility?
For much of its length The Door does little of interest with its fascinating, if preposterous premise, simply going through the motions as David impersonates his former self. It’s only in the third act that Saul picks the pace up with some intriguing twists. The most interesting of these plays up an angle most directly relatable to Invasion of the Body Snatchers with its clammy, oppressive sense of paranoia and mistrust.
Clearly the Door itself is a metaphor for our desire to alter the past by re-living it, thus taking a broom to our error-filled ways and setting our lives on an alternate course. Though it reflects a kind of implausible perfection, it’s still a nice fantasy to have. But going back in time is not without complications as David eventually discovers, many of them accelerating a horrific cause-and-effect of their own.
The film has a glossy, sleek look which works in its favour, whilst Fabian Romer’s score is given a couple of impressive moments to shine in which the main theme is ramped up to generate suspense. The acting is solid without burning up the screen; Mikkelsen, who seems to be spreading his talent a bit thin of late, has done better work though he’s not shown too many favours by a grim characterisation that hinders any opportunity to truly warm to him.
The Door, a mildly compelling drama with a supernatural twist written by Jan Berger, picks up momentum late in the game - not enough that you’ll be compelled to afford it a hearty recommendation, but it does entertain while it lasts. It’s one of those films where you’re half-expecting the carpet to be pulled out from under you in the final frames with that nastiest of confirmations: it was all just a dream!! Which isn’t the case…………….or is it?
Watch the trailer here.
The Festival of German Films begins from April 21 across Australia.
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