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A different way of telling a story

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

A Swedish "Lost in translation" light, if you like: Young, spoiled (and seemingly zombie-like) rich girl gets a dose of reality check sliding down the upper-class ladder, as she loses her job, posh friends and is forced to get a menial job at a McDonald's. There she meets and befriends an older, gentle divorcée with a similarly sad past. Small, satirical urban drama of our time's morals, shallowness and urban alienation is likable for sure, but the sparse, undeveloped info about most of its characters (which of course is the purpose) also gives the movie itself an anonymous feel of sketchiness... and waaay too short a running time to really score. Warm performance by Segerström, though, a promising debut by Meadows and nicely shot in a wintry Stockholm. Most critical point made about our modern city rut of life, is the fact that the almost only human and kind character gets treated the worst! 5 out of 10 from Ozjeppe.

Australia is having a love affair with Swedish cinema and as a person (not Asa Persson) from Australia I found this poignant whimsical satire of the bitch and un-famous quite a delicious social comment prevalent among shallow shop-girl-preppy exec set. This film is about friendship and the emptiness among the 'Desperate Shopgirls' of Stockholm and their equally mean and selfish male counterparts. I really liked the bouncy music score that allowed the viewer to know this is a wry and heartfelt comedy of modern bad manners and social errors. However it also is about just how truly unfair life is for any generation without ramming it home. It is subtle, quiet and very deliberately presented in gorgeous widescreen photography that shows Stocholm as the breathtaking but cold city it really is. I will not give away any plot but if you and your partner are willing to engage your brain with a sophisticated journey of self discovery from unlikely generational mix, then you will have much to discuss. The so called sophisticated bar scene friendships satirised among this pack of unpleasant shallow 30 somethings is genuinely enjoyable. DARLING is quietly excellent.

Lift them up high, lest we miss it when they fall. The plot is pure Aristoteles, sympathy and terror brought to you in a modern-looking, yet inherently classic tale so simple and loaded it almost qualifies as a parable. "Darling" tells the story of rich girl going down. Essentially, it's Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" re-arranged as a movie by acclaimed writer-director Johan Kling. Trying to settle in, Eva (Michelle Meadows) becomes unlikely allies with Bernard (Michael Segerström), a retired divorcée. The lonely girl kindles new hope in the old man, but it doesn't last. Just as Eva starts building a modest life of her own, she is yanked back by another passing stranger: back downtown from the suburbs, back into the jet-set from the working class, out of the bus and into a car. Bernard stays behind as Eva slides out of view in her new boyfriend's shiny SUV. Well-scripted, superbly acted and attractively photographed in a syncopated mix of wide-angle and extreme close-up shots. Includes priceless vintage footage of Jerry Williams dancing to his "Number One". Oh, and Michelle Meadows is really, really cute for a blonde. Pity Johan Kling explicitly told her not to smile on screen. Trust me, hers is a million dollar smile.

This is a nice little gem. Accustomed to the normal staple of Swedish film, meaning ham acting, high school morality and utter lack of anything resembling film magic, this was a surprise. Good, subdued acting, a twisting and turning storyline that keeps you unprepared for what's around the corner and a fresh and unsentimental approach to it's subjects makes this "a film for the person who doesn't like Swedish film" as one of my friends said after the film. Add to that some funny and intelligent dialogue with the occasional one-liner and you have a film that is truly enjoyable and lingers in your mind afterwards. During it's one and a half hour it grinds itself slowly into some true and important insights of contemporary life, as well as eternal truths (yeah, really). Could have been a bit longer though, because the end comes about a little abruptly,