'Armand' Review: Norwegian drama cuts to the heart of reactionary culture
Somewhere at the crossroads of 'Anatomy of a Fall' and 'The Hunt' lies 'Armand,' an adventurous, ambiguous thriller that puts mob mentality on trial, for better or worse
This review was submitted from the 60th Chicago International Film Festival.
The prevalence of public accusations in the modern world is a slippery slope that I, like many, have struggled with over the past decade. On one side of the coin, those who are wronged deserve the right to express their trauma as a method of coping and restitution. However, situational nuance and oversimplification of complex issues can rear their ugly heads when navigating an open dialogue. On more occasions than not, I find myself empathizing with those who are wronged, but it’s also important to remember that not every situation should be treated as the next.
Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel’s Armand (2024) attempts to challenge the nuance of its difficult topic by placing us directly in the shoes of such an occasion. While Armand has its ups and downs in exploring sensitive subject matter, the film ultimately finds the right tone in approaching its issues head-on. When the film leans into the dialogue-centric back and forth of other recent films (Anatomy of a Fall (2023), The Hunt (2012)), it succeeds. However, when it ventures off into ambiguous territory, it’s not as successful.
Tøndel’s directorial debut follows an alleged fight between two 6-year-old boys, one of whom is the titular Armand. Based on a he-said-he-said back and forth, Armand is accused of sexually assaulting a fellow classmate and former friend. Resultantly, both sets of parents are brought into the school to determine the best course of action for how to handle the serious accusation. Armand’s mother (Renate Reinsve) is an actress, pulled off the shoot of her latest film and into the situation without any notice, while the other boy’s parents (Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Endre Hellstveit) come to the faculty directly with their son’s accusation. As the administration figures out on the fly how to handle what’s transpired, the parents hailing barbs back and forth, something more sinister seems to be bubbling to the surface that could directly challenge these accusations.
In the past, I’ve been skeptical of films directly confronting cancel culture and mob mentality, often because many of the standard criticisms that come with the territory are often the same that were used before the #MeToo Movement to silence those who brought accusations to the public. I remember as a kid hearing so many passive dismissals of accusations against R&B singer R. Kelly, such as “they’re just rumors” or “there wasn’t substantial proof,” only to find years later those rumors were proven true in a court of law. When filmmakers use their platform to come out against the 2-10% of sexual assault allegations that are proven to be false as the real problem, they are often missing the point entirely. This was my main point of contention with Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt (2012), which I felt was in service of a false equivalency when dealing with how allegations are approached.
Armand never falls into those trappings, however. The narrative centers itself in the parents’ own prejudices through vicious dialogue while also navigating the trenches of public school red tape and, as a result, the film finds a unique angle to approach the topic that justifies its existence. Armand assuredly has its shortcomings–the film’s second half is a little unfocused as it delves into more interpretive means of telling its story, specifically an extended dance sequence amongst the cast goes on far too long. However, Armand is ultimately saved by its closing allegory: One source of shelter in a punishing rainstorm, expertly utilized as a means of demonstrating the lengths one will go to exact revenge. Doubt may exist, but ultimately, character rises to the surface.
B
Feature image credit to IFC Films via The Hollywood Reporter
