Whoa, here’s a major change of pace.
One of the more exciting and interesting directors to come out of Denmark in recent years (aside from the obvious Lars Von Trier and folks like Lone Scherfig, Niels Arden Oplev and Nicolas Winding Refn)?
Definitely Susanne Bier. She’s been three for three (at least) in the last few years delivering a trio of great pictures including “Brothers” (now remade by Jim Sheridan and coming out in December), “After the Wedding” (another great Mads Mikkelsen performance, and more importantly it scored an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film) as well as the underappreciated Benicio Del Toro-starrer, her English-language debut, “Things We Lost in the Fire” in 2007.
All her films — including “Open Hearts,” which used the now mostly defunct minimalist Dogme 95 style — have generally centered on brutally traumatizing events in families lives, but now she’s really planning on switching it up and will direct the independent romantic comedy “Which Brings Me To You.”
The script, by playwright Keith Bunin, follows a relationship through letters between a man and a woman who describe their past romantic mistakes. The novel’s meant to be pretty good, and with Bier attached, it’ll hopefully be a step above your average rom-com.
But still, it does feel like a fairly odd choice. Or possibly she just needs a very different change of emotional scenery. Watching her penetrating films can be a little emotionally and mentally taxing. We’re definitely curious. Maybe some interesting cast members will sign on. We’ll be keeping out an eye for this one.
