Aberdeen

2000 Drama

Set in Norway and Scotland, Aberdeen is a road movie that is as concerned with the geography of the heart as that of a topographical map. Kaisa (Lena Headey) is an ambitious lawyer who has just celebrated her recent promotion by having dominant sex with a man whose name she has no interest in learning. When her estranged mother, Helen (Charlotte Rampling), whom she hasn't been in contact with for a decade, calls her up to tell her that she is dying of cancer, Kaisa is faced with her mother's request to track down her divorced husband, Tomas (Stellan Skarsgard). A raging drunk, Tomas has been frequenting the pubs of Norway for a number of years, and Kaisa, after some initial hesitation, sets out for Oslo to find him. When she is finally reunited with Tomas, his drunkenness prevents them from being allowed on the flight back to Aberdeen, where her mother is hospitalized. Kaisa and Tomas embark on an overland journey that takes them across Norway and on a ferry to England, with Tomas drinking constantly and Kaisa discovering something that may be love with a self-effacing truck driver (Ian Hart). more..

Director: Hans Petter Moland

Starring: Lena Headey, Stellan Skarsgard, Ian Hart, Charlotte Rampling

Reviews

  • It could have done with fewer plot devices, but it is ultimately far more satisfying than countless less ambitious and risky films.

    Kevin Thomas - Los Angeles Times

    29 November 2012

  • It is difficult to watch, but it's also impossible to take your eyes off the screen. It does not blench at the things that Hollywood routinely blenches at: substance abuse, dying, family dysfunction, love.

    Michael O'Sullivan - The Washington Post

    29 November 2012

  • It is an uncompromising family tale, one that's dark but lyrical and moving in its rendering of the ties that bind even the most dysfunctional families, despite valiant efforts to destroy them.

    Loren King - The Boston Globe

    29 November 2012

  • A film of rare beauty, lifted by some of the best acting you may see in any film this year.

    Marta Barber - Miami Herald

    29 November 2012

  • Skarsgard and Headey deliver perfectly meshed lead performances in a small, beautifully acted film that will make you squirm.

    Stephen Holden - The New York Times

    29 November 2012

Awards

  • Best Film (Årets norske kinofilm)

    Amanda Awards, Norway (2001)

     
  • Best Actress

    Brussels European Film Festival (2001)

  • Philip Øgaard

    Camerimage (2000)

  • Best Actor

    Chlotrudis Awards (2003)

     
  • Hans Petter Moland

    Damascus Film Festival (2001)