Gymnaslærer Pedersen (2006)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Gymnaslærer Pedersen	Kristoffer Joner
Nina Skåtøy	Ane Dahl Torp	½
Werner Ludal	Jan Gunnar Røise	½
Jan Klåstad	Stig Henrik Hoff
with	Anne Ryg Jon Øigarden Robert Skjærstad Linn Skåber

Review

With the communist party AKP-ML, the delightful style and peculiarities of the 70s, Norwegian small-town life (and on top of that, Larvik), and the not inconsiderable literary talent of Dag Solstad, Hans Petter Moland should have had every possibility of turning this novel into a fairly good movie. Unfortunately, Gymnaslærer Pedersen is filled with disappointing craftsmanship both when it comes to writing and directing. Moland directs with an inconsistent sense of pacing. The film erupts unpredictably and unrhythmically, and character motivation is never discussed or taken into account.

On a superficial level, Gymnaslærer Pedersen is interesting. It is nice to see some "old shots" of Larvik, although there hasn't been enough resources involved in the project to be able to recreate the 70s more than semi-vividly. For people who were politically active in the 70s, the film should be interesting, but most likely also annoying, because the communist movement is given an unnecessary satirical recycling - especially when one takes into account that the film is rarely humorous - and ultimately tragic. Kristoffer Joner is a good actor, but he never manages to get any real spirit into the title character here. And as for Ane Dahl Torp, she does an inspired job, but is ultimately let down by the film. Her character is used as an outlet for mockery, before Moland suddenly tries to squeeze some dramatic effect and poignancy out of her. That is unfair and ineffective, and those two words largely sum up this inept picture.