For some, the idea of a Caribbean cruise with their mother might sound like an incredible way to mark a significant birthday. It should be glamorous, indulgent and fun. But writer / director Michael Noer (the man behind the likes of Nordvest and Prisoner) along with co-writer Jesper Fink, use the setting of a cruise ship to create a claustrophobic one-setting crime thriller with wider social commentary.
Nanna (Margret: Queen of The North’s Trine Dyrholm) has brought her daughter Cille (Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl) on a cruise for her eighteenth birthday. She’s even paid for Cille’s friend, Lea (Maja Ida Thiele) to join them. Despite all this effort and expense, Cille seems to resent having to spend time with her mother in such close quarters for a prolonged period of time. Her boyfriend keeps phoning to check up on her, and she’s not even legally able to drink in this part of the world.
However, Nanna sneaks the girls some cocktails and encourages them to have a good time as they head across the ocean. But, after being woken up by a crew member, Nanna soon realises that her daughter’s birthday celebrations have been marred with a vicious sexual assault – and that no one wants to take the young girl seriously.
The film opens with a blood red neon bathing the screen, quite obviously serving as a warning for what’s about to come. Noer invites us into a luxury world of pink neons and saccharine tannoy announcements; buzzing slot machines and tropical cocktails. Everything feels glossy and decadent. This is quickly swapped for the sterility of a doctor’s cabin and the horror of what has happened to bruised and frightened Cille. Director Noer has acknowledged in his Nordic Watchlist interview that he researched real cruise crimes to create an authentic on-screen realisation of sexual assault and how this is dealt with in international waters.
Birthday Girl also deals with the wider issue of how rape victims are treated. Cille is repeatedly asked how much she has had to drink or if she perhaps gave mixed messages. She is encourage to reassess her version of events and even withdraw her complaint. The crew – whether they work in security or the interior – all seem to speak in half truths, exchanging worried glances when questions are asked about their approach to justice. Her alleged assailant (played by Herman Tømmeraas) is every perfectly coiffured, arrogant frat boy in a linen shirt you’ve ever met. He is easy to dislike from the offset.
What’s most interesting is Trine Dyrholm’s performance. When we meet Nanna, she is all hair extensions and leopard print; you can tell she is trying to engage in a relationship with her daughter but somehow consistently misses the mark. Her interpretation of motherhood is all about being the “fun parent”, encouraging her daughter to dance and have a good time. Her transformation into a tireless detective-come-protector is striking in its juxtaposition to the Nanna we first meet. She, too, is never taken seriously and you can’t help but wonder if this is Noer’s perspective on the female experience.
Dyrholm is utterly compelling from start to finish. The panic that is written all over her face soon merges into rage and desperation. Her dress sense changes. Her language becomes more direct. She stops laughing and joking. Dyrholm plays beautifully against Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl, with their changing dynamic central to the film’s third act.
The film is a very tightly packed 90 minutes in length. The pacing is relentless – there are one or two red herrings, but Noer and Fink really do hammer their way to the finale. The crime drama is further compounded by the arrival of a tropical storm. The lashing wind and rain sees the ship change route, furniture swirl across corridors and passengers confined to smaller areas. This amps up the claustrophobia factor and forces Nanna into more confrontational situations, complete with a weather-based soundscape usually reserved for horror films.
The final scenes may leave your heart in your mouth wondering what will happen next, but Noer and Fink have no intention of tying it all up neatly in a bow – perhaps a striking metaphor for justice in itself. Birthday Girl is a thoroughly excellent watch.
Birthday Girl is available on Digital Platforms from the 17th June and is distributed by Signature Entertainment
