XL (2013) User Reviews

Artful, wry, debauched Bacchanalia.

[nikspitz · 7/10 · 25 August 2017]

Allegedly based on true circumstance, in which case a commentary on Icelandic political and social alcoholism and addiction - but certainly a study of humanity and hedonism - at once tragic and comic, delightfully insane and horribly sordid.

Engaging if you are not bent on linear plots, so much as total immersion into the artfully contrived flashbacks and blackouts of the enigmatic and grotesque protagonist as he parties hard all the way to the bottom. Edgy POV camera work, sharp editing and score evoke the decadent shenanigans of the political elite off the rails.

Well cast and acted and a little eccentric. The kind of film I for one love!

A tale of Xcess

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 27 January 2018]

Iceland boomed as the world entered the new millennium. There was money to be made, partying to be done and no one asked any questions as to what to do when the music stops.

XL is a metaphor of the country's boom time and then when it all came crashing down after the 2007 financial crash.

The film delivers a raw, uninhibited performance from Olafur Darri Olafsson. He plays Icelandic politician Leifur whom lives his life to the excess and is then told by the Prime Minister to go to rehabilitation for his lifestyle.

Liefur is obese, hooked on sex, drugs and booze. He sneers down on the common people, he has no time for his electorate, his life, politics and outlook is corrupt. Liefur's life is spiraling in an alcoholic haze.

The film is non linear to show the chaos of Liefur's life but it is Olafur's performance that makes this small, flawed Icelandic language film interesting.

The Lost Weekend meets La dolce vita

[artinmen · 9/10 · 2 May 2013]

Asshole Parliamentarian Leifur likes to drink. And then some. Like an elephant in a porcelain store he destroys everything around him and completely disregards the feelings of his loved ones. Almost all of the film is seen through his eyes so we're there, in it, with him. I have never before been so submerged in alcohol during a film, so much so that I was hungover the next day. It's a trip told with flashbacks within blackouts, quite confusing but it all makes sense somehow. It's fascinating yet loathsome at the same time. I felt dirty afterward. Brilliantly shot and edited and the soundtrack is amazing. It's one of those films you have to see again. The performances are spot on. The writing is crisp. I would like to see a discussion about the daughter, and the Patriarchy. Big issues. Definitely not for everyone but it's up there with films about alcoholism like The Lost Weekend and the whole party-feel is definitely La dolce vita. Highly recommend it.