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Film: Nightwatch (Nattevagten)
Year: 1994
Director: Ole Bornedal
Writer: Ole Bornedal
Starring: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sofie Gråbøl and Kim Bodnia
Review:
This was a film that I had a bit of trouble finding at first, but I do have to admit, I was glad that I took the time to find it. It has an interesting premise, although I do have to argue that comparisons on my DVD copy to other movies is out there. This is one that I originally watched for the Summer Challenge Series on the Podcast Under the Stairs for their 90s run. I’ve given it a second watch for my Foray through the Fours on Shudder.
Synopsis: a law student starts working as a night guard at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen. His mad friend gets him on a game of dare that escalates him to being targeted by a serial killer.
We start here around a table where we have two couples. Our main character is Martin (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). His girlfriend is Kalinka (Sofie Gråbøl). His friend Jens (Kim Bodnia) is also there with his girlfriend, Lotte (Lotte Andersen). Jens is the ‘mad’ friend from the synopsis. There’s a news report on television about a serial killer who is targeting prostitutes. It is brought up that Martin has issues as he is starting work at the building where the victims are taken.
His tour of the new gig is given by an elderly man who is soon to be the former night guard as it’s his last night. During the tour, Martin is shown a couple of rooms that are unnerving, especially one that is a room full of bodies awaiting autopsy. He is told by the elderly man to get himself a radio where Martin tells him he is there to mostly study. The night guard still insists.
We then see Martin and Jens in class. Martin is charming and Jens asks if Kalinka is enough for him. His friend confirms that he’d never cheat on her. The two play a game of dare, where the stakes are raised so whoever loses has to give up their life, in Jens’ eyes, to marry their girlfriend. It does seem that Jens isn’t ready for a life of settling down yet. He also doesn’t seem happy with his life.
Things become complicated when Jens tells Martin he had sex with a prostitute, Joyce (Rikke Louise Andersson). She is young and his dare is for Martin to do the same thing. The problem is that Jens tells her his name is Martin and to keep up this charade. This means his friend also must do the same. During an odd dinner scene where the real Jens humiliates her, she reveals that she knows who the serial killer is. He killed her friend and met him.
At work, Martin is freaked out by an alarm if one of the ‘bodies’ in the morgue isn’t dead. This makes the night doctor dislike him and causes him to lose trust that he can manage the job. Martin does befriend the Kommisæren (Ulf Pilgaard), who shows him a bit more than this student should see. Things take a dark turn though when Joyce reaches out to Kalinka. She gets into it with Martin; until he realizes what she told Kalinka isn’t him. The information points to the killer.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I’ll start is that has an interesting story. I think that Martin being a law student is intriguing, because he is given a taste of the career that he wants to get into. I’m not entirely sure if Kommisæren would really involve him like he does in the things that he does. Since Martin is studying law and being that this is a country foreign to what they would in the United States, I can roll with it. There are also reveals here that help explain this. It feels like a giallo movie in that, where they would involve people in solving a case that might not be in real life. That was something that pulled me in.
Now that I have that set up, let’s delve more into what we’re getting here. I want to start with Jens. He has a girlfriend who cares about him and they’re to that point in their relationship where they have to figure out what they’re doing. He panics and is sabotaging himself, through this dare game. He even pulls Martin into it as well. I do think this is an intriguing way to get this duo as well as Kalinka intertwined with this killer they hear about on TV.
Where I’ll then go was that originally had an issue with the pacing. It isn’t as much of a deal this time around, now knowing what type of film this is. It is morel earning more about Martin and Jens which then effects Kalinka and Lotte. This all then leads to revealing the killer is I feel is good. I respect it more now having seen more gialli. Where this also ends up was good. Seeing Martin descending into madness and then becoming the prime suspect was good and it did make me pause. Everything leads to the climax which I appreciate.
I’ll then shift over to the acting which was good across the board. I, of course, know Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones. I did like seeing a young version of him here, because you can see his talents. His portrayal is interesting, especially when he is drugged along by Jens. He doesn’t have the confidence I know him to have in later roles. This ends up getting him in trouble and I liked his descent into madness and losing himself. Gråbøl is also good in a supporting role to him and how she develops the story. I would also say that Bodnia was solid. His destructive personality helps drive the story as well and makes him a potential suspect. Andersen was solid in support as well, especially to offset Jens. Pilgaard, Andersson and the rest of the cast also round the film for what was needed as well.
Where I’ll then end this is with filmmaking. First, I love the set up that we learn about the murders and that Martin is going to be working at a morgue. That is a great setting. I like that he puts up a façade about not being scared he is. The cinematography here is solid, as was the framing of the shots. We don’t get much in the way of effects, but this is more about the aftermath of killings. I did notice a victim breathing when she should be dead. It is what it is. The blood and body fluids we see look real. I’d also say that the soundtrack worked for what was needed here.
In conclusion, this film was another one I hadn’t heard much about but was quite impressed with what I saw. There is an interesting that feels complex while also being simple story. There are good subplots to connect dots. This is well made from the setting, cinematography and the soundtrack. The look of the murder victims was real enough. The acting performances drive this. I also appreciate the soundtrack more this time around. This is an interesting neo-giallo film from Denmark, so I did have to watch it with subtitles on. I’m not sure if there’s a dub or not. Just wanted to put that out there just in case.
My Rating: 8 out of 10