jeffreyfgold Review of Aberdeen

Aberdeen (2000)

Aberdeen is an understated melodrama in the European tradition

[10/10 · 12 February 2008]

Aberdeen is an excellent character-driven film. It is one of the best films I have seen in a very long time (now that we have to slog through gargantuan archives of direct-to-DVD films just to get to the few good ones). Charlotte Rampling's line, "Sometimes ugly can be nice" captures the film's characters very well. Stellan Skarsgard, Lena Headey, Ian Hart and Charlotte Rampling are superb in this understated, European (English language) melodrama. Both the beautifully sparse cinematography and Preisner's "childish" score work very well subtextually. The plot is driven by destination and deadline, and this road movie uses every scenario to develop or reinforce character traits. The dialogue is equally sparse and terse, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks to diffuse the dramatic tension. I highly recommend this film, especially if you're not afraid of delving into some Scandinavian melancholy. I give it a 10 for being emotionally engaging and differentiating itself from a bevy of moribund films and/or lifeless protagonists whose goals are inconsequential; the characters in Aberdeen are tragically flawed, but one cares for them. Deeply.