Involuntary Released 12 November 2010 Director Ruben Ostlund Starring Villmar Bjorkman, Linnea Cart-Lamy, Leif Edlund, Sara Eriksson, Lola Ewerlund, Olle Liljas, Maria Lundqvist, Cecilia Milocco, Simeon Nordius, Henrik Vikman, Vera Vitali Writer(s) Eric Hemmendorff, Ruben Ostlund Producer(s) Philippe Bober Origin Sweden Running Time 98 minutes Genre Drama Rating

50

Reality at its most mundane.

Swedish director Ruben Ostlund lays bare his vision of filmmaking in De Ofrivilliga (Involuntary), a movie that focuses on group dynamics versus the individual, using five interspersed and unconnected stories to demonstrate his social commentary and particular style. The film has been very well received worldwide, winning eight awards and being nominated for seven, and was chosen for the "Cannes Official Selection" at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008. High praise indeed for a highly stylised movie, that has lofty aspirations in its attempted dissection of human behaviour.

The pervasive style of this movie is such that it cannot be ignored, and literally dominates the movie with its unusual camera work and treatment of its subjects; in such a way that I use the word "subjects" here rather than characters, as the essence of the technique seems to be about capturing reality at its most honest. The film is a series of long-sequence shots taken with a static camera, which is often placed in a haphazard manner, meaning that often it’s view is obstructed, or we view things from behind, from the side, or listen to people who are completely off screen. Ostlund uses non-thespians alongside actors and though it is scripted, it seems that they are encouraged to ad-lib, resulting in completely natural performances and real-life situations, where the camera is invisible to the actors of the various stories. His style has been compared to fellow Swedish director Roy Andersson, who uses long-sequence shots and avoids cuts in an effort to capture real life, negating the sometimes negative influence a camera may have on natural performances. Similarly, directors Ken Loach and Mike Leigh exemplify the style of Ruben's De Ofrivilliga, as both are advocates of this style of realism; capturing truth by improvisation and an ability to record genuine interplay between their "characters" and their reactions to events as they unfold-  their own unique twist on "cinema verité" with an even higher sense of realism achieved.

Ostlund uses five stories and settings to display this style and unites each through the theme of the individual versus the group, placing them in common social situations that require resolution from an individual standing up to the group. All differ in age and social class, but the humanity and familiarity of each are the strands that weave them together. We first join a middle aged couple, appearing to be upper class, who are throwing a dinner party. A simple firework demonstration goes wrong and injures the host; who would rather soldier on than disturb his social gathering of friends and families. Two young teenage girls, over sexualised but charmingly innocent, chatter and pout and wander the streets at night drinking. This story reaches its climax with an ominous overtone as one of the girls, passed out from drink and left alone, is picked up by a total stranger. A young teacher demonstrates the dangers of caving to peer pressure to her students, and is later shoe-horned into a situation where she is left to stand against the group in defence of her ideals. A bus driver refuses to drive on with his passengers until someone admits to damaging the toilet curtain-rail, and finally a group of men enjoy a homo-erotic weekend away in a country retreat, until one guy takes a joke too far and causes awkwardness, as his friend allows himself to be violated rather than "ruin the fun".

Each strand of the movie, being visited a few minutes at a time, depicts social situations honestly and there are a whole host of instances where the audience will relate to the familiar awkwardness or difficulties experienced in dealing with these everyday scenarios. The hex of each requires someone to stand up or speak out, and the varying effects of doing so or remaining silent conclude each piece. Certainly, the ability to betray the truth of social behaviour, and the performances of the actors; especially the young teenage girls, are to be commended, but in reality what Ostlund has achieved is a film obsessed with style and not enough substance. The moral dilemmas and wisdom on life's nuances are overshadowed by the mundane activities of each party, and there's not enough going on for the lessons learned by each to hit home. By the end, you wish someone had told him that real life doesn't have to be so boring.

- Eadaoin Browne