A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	107:31
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Hans Petter Moland
Studio Distributor	Gryphon Entertainment	Starring	Stellan Skarsgård Bjørn Floberg Gard B. Eidsvold Jorunn Kjellsby Bjørn Sundquist Jon Øigarden Kjersti Holmen Jan Gunnar Røise Julia Bache-Wiig Aksel Hennie Henrik Mestad
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	Halfdan E

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Norwegian Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Norwegian Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Ulrick (Stellan Skarsgard) is released after 12 years in gaol for the shooting death of his wife’s lover. Ulrick had been a criminal working for Rune Jensen (Bjorn Floberg), and now he is out Jensen finds Ulrick some spartan accommodation with landlady Karen (Jorunn Kjellsby) and a job as a mechanic in the garage run by Sven (Bjorn Sundquist) and his secretary Merete (Jannike Kruse). Jensen also knows the whereabouts of Kenny, the man who had shopped Ulrick to the police 12 years ago. He assumes Ulrick will want to get even, getting him a pistol on the black market. But Ulrick is a changed man and all he really wants to do is to reconnect with his son Geir (Jan Gunner Roise), now a 25 year old living with his pregnant girlfriend.

     Indeed, Ulrick’s world is looking OK. He has a job, he is making progress with his son and, if he has to juggle the desires of two women, at least he is trying to be honest with them. But life has a way of turning complicated, and choices made by Ulrick take him back into his old life driven by Jensen, who has his own reasons for wanting Kenny killed. Can a man like Ulrick truly change and make a new life for himself?

     A Somewhat Gentle Man (En Ganske snill mann) is a Norwegian film that works on a number of levels. It is beautifully constructed, walking a fine line between comedy and drama with a wry sense of humour, good dialogue and an excellent cast. All the acting, in parts big and small, is very good and believable, with perhaps Jorunn Kjellsby the standout among the lesser parts. And, in the main role, Stellan Skarsgard is wonderful.

     Skarsgard is a Scandinavian actor who is equally at home in Hollywood productions, being seen recently in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), while continuing to perform at home in films such as the recent King of Devil’s Island (2110) as well as the unforgettable original Insomnia (1997). In A Somewhat Gentle Man he is compelling, the plot developing totally from his perspective; he is always on screen and we see nothing that he does not see. His Ulrick is the somewhat gentle man of the title, and he is indeed a quiet man, a man of few words not given to opulent gestures but who is not beyond dishing out some very effective violence on occasion. Ulrick is also bemused by the way the world has changed while he has been inside; he is not allowed to smoke in the places he used to for example and he is especially bemused by the attention he receives from various women, attention he never seeks although he is prepared to do what is required in some very funny sequences. The scenes where he tries to awkwardly reconnect with his son, which could be mawkish in lesser hands, are also beautifully written and played.

     A Somewhat Gentle Man is a delight; a natural, wryly humorous crime drama with believable situations and a wonderful understated central performance by Stellan Skarsgard that is worth the price of the DVD by itself. Recommended.

Video

     A Somewhat Gentle Man is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the original theatrical ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced.

     This is a good looking print. It is sharp enough, with good detail in the close-ups of Skarsgard’s craggy face and thinning hair. Shot towards the end of a Norwegian winter, with snow still on the ground, colours are natural but muted, with dull greys and greens dominant. Skin tones are natural, blacks solid and shadow detail good in the few evening scenes. Contrast and brightness were consistent. There is slight occasional ghosting with movement in front of mottled surfaces, but otherwise artefacts are absent.

     English subtitles are in a white font that is easy to ready. They use abbreviations like “wanna” and “gonna” a bit, which I suppose is used to represent the Norwegian dialogue but otherwise there are no obvious spelling or grammatical errors.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
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Audio

     The audio choice is either Norwegian Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps or Norwegian Dolby Digital 2.0 at 224 Kbps.

     In both audio tracks dialogue sounded clear and centred. There is very little in the surrounds other than the occasional music, and the sub-woofer did add a little bass to the music as well. In truth, this is a film with lots of silences dialogue, and little action that does not benefit from the 5.1 audio. Indeed, this is a rare case where the 2.0 audio (surround encoded) could be preferred, as it seems to have a sharper sound. Either is perfectly adequate for the film.

     The score by Halfdan E was low key and supported the mood of the film well.

     Lip synchronisation was fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     There are no extras.

     The only version of A Somewhat Gentle Man available elsewhere is a Region 1 US version which comes with a theatrical trailer, but is reported to have a poor video and burned in English subtitles. Go local.

     A Somewhat Gentle Man is a natural, wryly humorous drama with believable situations and a wonderful understated central performance by Stellan Skarsgard that is worth the price of the DVD by itself.

     The DVD comes with acceptable video and audio. There are no extras.

     A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010) is included in the three disc Crime and Punishment collection from Gryphon, an interesting set of European independent cinema that also includes Dealer (2004) and Lost Times (2009).

Video
Audio
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Plot
Overall