Reviews

Just an absolutely phenomenal job from the cast, especially Teresa Palmer and Miranda Otto. Otto is especially chilling in her portrayal of her character at every level of the character's development. She's a marvelous actress who deserves more acclaim. Palmer also shines in a difficult role as a person who has been extremely damaged from her youth in the Kindred cult. Guy Pearce (superb in everything he does) does a great job in a secondary role that is key to the story. Only downside for me is that the story unfolds in multiple timelines and it can be difficult to detect when the timelines change Multiple themes are at play throughout the story and most of them come through without being heavy-handed.

I chanced across an article for this film over the summer, but it never showed up in my market, so I had to wait for the DVD.

I'll say right up front, this movie isn't for everyone and the wide range of scores from the voting on this site shows that to be the case. I was absolutely mesmerized by it. Mads Mikkelsen is phenomenal (playing both One-Eye here and Igor Stravinsky in "Coco and Igor" spans about the widest range I can imagine for an actor).

The plot is simple; it's the themes that are interesting. It's hard to ascertain the exact theme for which Winding-Refn was aiming, but the philosophical/theological underpinnings of this movie go straight to the core of human existence.

No way is this the "feel good" movie of the year, but "Valhalla Rising" challenges in a way that the cinema rarely bothers to attempt anymore.