A Somewhat Gentle Man

Stellan Skarsgård stars as the titular somewhat gentle man in this deadpan Norwegian comedy. After 12 years behind bars for murder, Skarsgård's Ulrik, whose ratty ponytail adds to his sad-sack demeanor, reunites with crime boss Jensen (Bjørn Floberg), who sets him up with a car mechanic gig and a basement room. Unfortunately, the bennies don't come for free; Jensen expects Ulrik to kill the snitch who reported his crime—except his legit new life keeps getting in the way. First, Ulrik's stone-faced landlady (Jorunn Kjellsby) wants sexual favors for her hospitality, a request that Ulrik dutifully obliges. Ulrik also reconnects with his estranged son (Jan Gunnar Røise), whose fiancée is expecting their first child. When the garage manager ends up in the hospital due to a heart condition, Ulrik steps in to run the joint with blunt bookkeeper Merete (Jannike Kruse), who asks him out after he rescues her from an abusive ex. Although his supervisor warned him to keep his dealings with her professional, Ulrik can't resist, thus putting his own job in jeopardy. Skarsgård makes all the right moves, although the script lets him down whenever a depressed, middle-aged woman flings herself at him (resulting in some seriously un-sexy love scenes). But director Hans Petter Moland wraps up Ulrik's moral quandary in a dramatically satisfying and darkly amusing fashion. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)