Aberdeen (2000)

A mom dying in Aberdeen, Scotland, asks her coke snorting, nympho, London lawyer daughter to get her estranged, alcoholic dad in Oslo, Norway, to Aberdeen. He's drunk at the airport, so they travel together by car and ferry.

Directors:

Hans Petter Moland, Tony Spataro

Writers:

Hans Petter Moland (screenplay), Kristin Amundsen (screenplay)

Stars:

Stellan Skarsgård, Lena Headey, Jean Anderson

9 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Tomas
Jean Anderson	...	Kaisa as a Child
Lena Headey	...	Kaisa
Charlotte Rampling	...	Helen
Louise Goodall	...	Sara
Jason Hetherington	...	Perkins
Kate Lynn Evans	...	Emily
John Killoran	...	Blake
John Harwood	...	Huddleson
Sara-Marie Maltha	...	Receptionist (as Sarah Marie Maltha)
Fergus McLarnon	...	Eric
Anders T. Andersen	...	Customs Official
Henriette Steenstrup	...	Car Rental Clerk
Kari Simonsen	...	Waitress
Jan Grønli	...	Granbakken

Storyline

Kaisa is a Scot, a successful London lawyer, who snorts coke and has one-night stands with strangers. Her mother calls from Aberdeen with some story begging her to fly to Norway and collect her alcoholic dad whom she hasn't seen in years. The impatient Kaisa reluctantly agrees. The story is a ruse: mom is dying and wants her ex and her daughter together again. The trip gets complicated (dad is too drunk to fly and the hot-tempered Kaisa gets them banned from the airline): they go by ferry then car, needing a great deal of help along the way from a sweet lorry driver named Clive. Will they reach Aberdeen before mom's death, and will Kaisa find any stability within herself or in others?

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Plot Keywords:

male nudity | breasts | shower | road trip | sex scene | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Quotes

Tomas: Young girls are supposed to lose their virginity. It happens to a lot of nice people.

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Connections

References Rain Man (1988)

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Soundtracks

I Get Along Without You Very Well
Text and Music Hoagy Carmichael
Published by Famous Music Inc.
Courtesy of BMG Music Publishing Scandinavia AB
Performed by Chet Baker
© 1997 Blue Note Records, a registered trademark of Capitol Records
Courtesy of EMI Norsk AS

User Reviews

Heart wrenching film

Heart wrenching film that knocks you down, then lifts you up only to knock you down again. It is tough to see the desperate alcoholism of Tomas, particularly in the scene where he is mocked, bullied, and beaten up by well dressed drunken strangers whom he approaches to buy cans of beer.

Stellan Skarsgård is brilliant as the drunken father, and so is Ian Hart as the saintly lorry driver. This film will give you an insight into the dynamics of a family ripped apart by addiction and our need to see dignity in those closest to us.

There were a couple of things that could have improved this film for me. Firstly, the principle character, Kaisas scottish accent is somewhat unconvincing. Secondly, all urban scenes in the odyssey through Britain from Harrow to Aberdeen, are shot in the city centre and west end of Glasgow. This really affected the realism and appeal of the film for me.

Details

Country:

UK Sweden Norway

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 2000 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Aberdeen

Filming Locations:

Bergen, Hordaland, Norway

Box Office

Budget:

$6,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,065, 19 August 2001

Gross USA:

$65,090

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$65,090

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmfabriken Baltic Sea AB, Freeway Films, Norsk Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1