site search by freefind
MotorBar
The Exception
The Exception “At a small NGO specialising in
  genocide and crimes against humanity
  in Copenhagen, Denmark, a female
  worker voices her concerns about being
  ignored by the three women she works
  with; but when two of her colleagues
  receive horrifying death threats,
  originally attributed to a Serbian war
  criminal they are writing about,
  suspicion falls on her in the tense
  Danish psychological thriller The
  Exception...”

WORKING TOGETHER AT AN ORGANISATION that specialises in genocide, human rights and the analysis of evil, Iben (Danica Curcic: The Mist; Silent Heart), Malene (Amanda Collin: Raised By Wolves), Anne-Lise (Sidse Babett Knudsen: Borgen; Westworld) and Camilla (Lena Maria Christensen: Terribly Happy; The Legacy) are suddenly shaken by emailed death threats to Iben and Malene.

As they have been writing about Serbian war criminal Mirko Zigic (Borut Veselko), they automatically assume it is to do with him. Doubts arise when Anne-Lise raises her concerns with manager Paul (Olaf Johannesen) about being left out of things by her colleagues, who often close her door to protect Malene's frail health.

“Intriguing and edgy,
The Exception
develops nicely into
a psychological thriller
where the talented
cast work well as their
credible characters to
keep you guessing until
the truth is revealed...”
Iben and Malene are friends who are often out together and meet ladies man Gunnar (Magnus Krepper), whom Iben believes is not boyfriend material. Malene already has a boyfriend, Rasmus (Simon Sears), but she doubts his staying power as she suffers crippling arthritis.

As Iben, Malene and Camilla turn against Anne-Lise to the point where she begins to feel bullied, pressure is on Paul to stand Anne-Lise down while they try to find out if she is responsible.

Iben is haunted by experiences she suffered as a hostage in Kenya where she was tortured and had to win the trust of her tormentors in order to escape.

Malene has a distressing and painful episode where medication prescribed for her arthritis fail to work and she discovers someone has replaced them with useless pills; and Anne-Lise, now beginning to doubt her own sanity, discovers that Camilla had dated Serbian Dragan Jelisic (Sergej Trifunovic), who works with Zigic.

A death disguised as an accident could be covering someone's guilt; but whose? Further tragedy and danger await; but nothing can prepare the survivors for the final outcome.

Based on the best-selling novel by Christian Jungersen, the book was adapted into a film by Christian Torpe once the book had sold more than 200,000 copies.

The Exception is littered with photographs of atrocities and Nazi crimes against humanity and includes a number of historical quotes and references that sit alongside the empiric dialogue. During their analyses the women also look at how perpetrators may seek to justify their evil ways.

Intriguing and edgy, The Exception develops nicely into a psychological thriller where the talented cast work well as their credible characters to keep you guessing until the truth is revealed. Although the film does not dwell too much on disturbing issues, some may find the graphic photographs and descriptions distressing.

Filmed on location in Budapest, Hungary and in Denmark, The Exception also features: Susan A Olsen as Dorte Ingeman; Morten Hauch-Fausbøll as Henrik; Thomas Guldberg Madsen as Finn; Johanne Louise Schmidt as Tess; Filippa Suensen as Gritt; Marie Dalsgaard as Charlotte; Likho Mango as Omoro; Rita Engberg Steen as Clara; and Virgil Katring-Rasmussen as Anne-Lise's son Nikolaj.

Music is by Henrik Lindstrand; Director of Photography is Erick Zappon, DFF; Producers are: Marcella Lindstad Dichmann, Mille Bjørke, Miriam Nørgaard and Victória Petrányi (Hungarian Unit); Written by Christian Torpe (Screenplay) and Christian Jungesen (Novel); and Directed by Jasper W Nielsen.

* Danish psychological thriller The Exception is released across all major UK Digital Platforms on Digital Download by Parkland Entertainment on 22 January 2021. Digital Platforms: iTunes, Apple TV, Sky Store, Google Play, Amazon, Virgin, Curzon Home Cinema and Chili (Also BT on rental only from 1 February 2021). Running Time: 115 Minutes.

"Intriguing and edgy, The Exception develops nicely into a psychological thriller where the talented cast work well as their credible characters to keep you guessing until the truth is revealed" — **** Maggie Woods, MotorBar
.