Darling (2017)

DARLING is the moving love story of a dancer on the rollercoaster ride of her life, a drama about the rise and fall of a modern woman as she summons the courage to face her greatest trial.

Director:

Birgitte Stærmose

Writers:

Kim Fupz Aakeson (story), Kim Fupz Aakeson

Stars:

Danica Curcic, Astrid Grarup Elbo, Gustaf Skarsgård

4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Danica Curcic	...	Darling
Astrid Grarup Elbo	...	Polly
Gustaf Skarsgård	...	Frans
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Kristian

Storyline

Darling is a world-famous Danish ballerina. After a long absence, she and her husband Frans return to the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen to perform the classic ballet "Giselle". She will dance the title role with Frans as choreographer. During a rehearsal, Darling collapses in pain. Try as she may to deny it, the prognosis is clear: her hip is irreparably damaged. She will never dance again. Her professional life, her world, is in ruins. But Darling refuses to let go. She decides to train her replacement, a young ballerina named Polly, to make Polly the Giselle she can no longer be. But as Polly becomes the center of attention, of Frans' attention, Darling's emotional stability begins to unravel.

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Plot Keywords:

copenhagen denmark | ballet dancer | one word title | ballet | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Denmark

Language:

Danish

Release Date:

19 October 2017 (Denmark)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zentropa Entertainments, Det Danske Filminstitut, TV2 Danmark

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The international premiere of the movie was held in the old opera house in Gothenburg during the film festival.

User Reviews

Why is this great film not gaining a full-scale international release?

Like reviewer Marilyn, I saw this film at the 2017 London Film Festival. I saw a lot of films there and some were excellent, but DARLING was the one that impressed me the most. I was very curious to discover whether other audience members were similarly 'knocked out' and those I spoke to definitely were. The story and the performances make it gripping viewing and the setting within the home of the renowned Danish Royal Ballet should make it a must for anyone interested in ballet. I won't include any spoilers but one thing I really liked is the way that it keeps you guessing whether it will stay within the boundaries of drama, or whether the fragile mental state of the central character will propel it it into very dark psychological thriller territory. Certain scenes make uncomfortable viewing, but it also manages to be subtle and understated. I'm bewildered that I've so far seen no evidence of it getting a major international release, so in the unlikely situation that any distributor beyond Denmark that's looking for out of the ordinary foreign films reads this, please consider picking up the rights to DARLING!