A Royal Affair

Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Folsgaard, Alicia Vikander, Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik, Cyron Bjorn Melville

Dir. Nikolaj Arcel
Scr. Nikolaj Arcel & Rasmus Heisterberg

This film truly wowed me. Expecting a good-looking, costume-laden historical drama, I was both surprised and delighted to be met with so much more than that. Sure, this movie is grand – royal opulence, sweeping vistas, heritage on display, etcetera and so on. But it’s also wonderfully intimate, utterly tragic, with a dash of hilarity and some very big and thorny ideas on offer. Knowing absolutely zero about this particular period in Danish history (or, let’s face it, any period in Danish history), I also felt much wiser by the time the credits rolled. Hugely recommended and certainly a strong contender for the top ten of 2012 list.

A Royal Affair is set in 18th century Denmark and, as the title suggests, is the story of an ill-fated (aren’t they always?) love triangle between King Christian VII (Folsgaard), his English wife Caroline Mathilde (Vikander) and the royal physician Johann Struensee (Mikkelsen). It’s also the story of the Enlightenment, of insanity, of passion and tragedy. What more could you ask for?

This luscious film can stand alongside the best historical dramas I’ve seen come out of the UK or France or the US. Benefiting from some beautiful heritage locations, this film looks and feels wonderfully authentic. The costumes are suitably intricate and glorious, bosoms heaving and wigs galore. And when we see the grit and grim of the lower classes, I could almost feel the rats scurrying around my feet.

Against this background, the true success of this film are its more intimate moments of fragility and the lofty ideas and ideals at its heart. It’s a superbly written movie – compelling and nuanced, it doesn’t feel anywhere near its 137 minute running time. I laughed out loud a handful of times and cried twice, but not once did I feel emotionally manipulated.

The acting on offer is top-notch. You may not recognise many of them (unless you’ve watched the Danish crime show The Killing), but they are all very good indeed. Mikkelsen, who has one of those faces that let you know he has truly lived, is brilliant as the German doctor who becomes more powerful than a king. He is all restrained emotion, until he truly can’t hold it in anymore. And then his performance is completely heart-breaking. Vikander is a gorgeous actress and has the perfect mix of youthful guile and weary resignation that this role requires. The stand out for me, however, was Folsgaard as the unfortunate King. He manages to be both an unlikeable and sympathetic character. On the edge of insanity for nearly the entire film, he is never as incompetent as we think he is. A wonderfully executed performance.

If you fancy a bit of history, you will not be disappointed by this film. And if you want a little more to your historical films than just grand houses and frilly costumes, you will also not be disappointed. This is a gripping film. Go see it.