The Swedish thriller,A Day and a Halfpremiered on Netflix in 2023, so is it worth watching or not? InA Day and a Half, a film based on a true story that filmmaker and star Fares Fares read years before he wrote the film, a police officer is placed in an unbelievable situation. At the start of the movie, a man named Artan (Alexej Manvalov) walks into a doctor’s office and demands to see his ex-wife, Louise (Alma Pöysti), a nurse there. His tone is a little more than threatening and when he whips out a gun, there’s no doubt he’s not a great guy.
Taking his wife hostage, Artan demands a tinted car and a driver. The Swedish police send in the only hostage negotiator they have on staff, Lukas, played by Fares Fares, who American audiences will know asIshmael inThe Wheel of Timeseries. Artan demands that Lukas drive him and Louise to their daughter’s house, mentioning that he plans to get “them” out. What he has in store is not immediately clear, but as the unlikely trio drive across the country,they, and the audience, come to learn unexpected things about one another.
Does A Day And A Half’s “True Story Inspiration” Help Or Hurt The Movie?
Fares Fares Based His Movie On A 2008 Article
A Day and a Halfis loosely based on a true story that Fares Fares read in 2008 that reported a man entered his ex-wife’s doctor’s office with a pistol and demanded to know where his child was (viaVogueScandinavia). There wasn’t much more to it than that, butFares mentions that where some saw a violent attack, he saw a love story. The beginning ofA Day and a Halfplays out much like that article and then develops from there. It’sa true kidnapping thrillerbut low stakes keep it from getting too worrisome until the end.
But Fares really did not need it, andA Day and a Halfarguably gains nothing from “being based on a true story”.
The beginning ofA Day and a Halfstarts with a title card that mentions the story that inspired the film. But Fares really did not need it, andA Day and a Halfarguably gains nothing from “being based on a true story”. In fact, as the movie goes on, events become much more theatrical and melodramatic. It becomes clear that most ofA Day and a Halfis invented, which wouldn’t have been a problem had Fares not made an attempt to connect it with a semi-related story. As it is, the audience just ends up feeling duped.
A Day And A Half Is Not Worth Watching
Too Little Happens In A Day In A Half For It To Be Worthwhile
A creative conceit for a hostage movie is not enough to keep the film interesting. Fares himself is great and some of the best parts ofA Day and a Halfcome from him explaining more about his history, seemingly coming to realizations of his own as he does so. Manvalov is capable in his role as well, and Arlan’s nervous twitchy energy played against Lukas' eerie calm makes for an enjoyable, and at times humorous, dichotomy. The third person in the car, however, Louise, gets treated as no more than a prop for most of the film.
A Day and a Halfis Fares Fares' directorial debut.
There’s a realness to the movie that makes it engaging on some level, but at the same time, removes the tension. Even when something strange is supposed to occur, it doesn’t feel quite strange enough and is quickly forgotten. Frequent shifts in tone and mood also make it difficult for the audience to get a grasp on what kind of movieA Day and a Halfis supposed to be. Brief nudges to real life politics are momentarily illuminating, but they never last long.A Day and a Halfis just not worth the watch if there’s something better available.
