The World of Movies: No Ill Will
Written by Rachael Crawley
The World of Movies is a series that explores global cinema, drawing on films from many countries, industries and eras. This week, we unravel a friendship in the Faroe Islands.
No Ill Will.
May contain spoilers.
Content warning: this film contains references to suicide.
Odds are that anyone reading this has been through a friend breakup at some point, whether it ended in drama or estrangement – or perhaps most painfully of all, with the slow fade. It can be painful to unpick where things went wrong (if, indeed, anything did), and sometimes you’re left with no clear answers.
No Ill Will (Andrias Høgenni, 2018), a co-production between Denmark and the Faroe Islands, conveys this process very clearly. Elinborg and Marita unexpectedly run into each other in a grocery store, after some time without contact, and attempt to get through the moment with a thin and forced politeness. This immediately tanks when Elinborg realizes she has forgotten Marita’s upcoming birthday. For a moment, the two appear to manage the awkwardness – but Marita cannot resist following up on something that has been bothering her. The conversation swiftly devolves from there. It is not an argument where anyone is wrong, exactly, but neither is particularly kind to the other.
What seems like a simple spat suddenly becomes much more complicated. Dealing with the fallout, the characters struggle with the pettiness behind the situation, and an outcome that is much more than could have been predicted. Here the screenplay shows its true strengths, in allowing its characters and the situation to be complex. While not excusing anyone’s actions, the film is not overly condemnatory, either. It’s a refreshing take for a story that could have easily been placed in a specific mindset.
No Ill Will.
Mariann Hansen and Sissal Drews Hjaltalin are both superb as the two leads. Hansen conveys Elinborg’s nervous excuses, which evolve into a deeper distress as the film continues. It contrasts nicely with Hjaltalin’s more determined approach, which ranges from cool and collected to fiercely passionate. Niels Dampe is also given the opportunity to show some range as Marita’s seemingly ditzy friend.
The fluorescent, impersonal grocery store makes an excellent setting for this most awkward of moments, and the gathering scene towards the end is appealingly staged. The cinematography can be a little jumpy in a way that doesn’t suit the film, and some moments are jarring for the viewer. Apart from this flaw, however, it is technically well-done.
No Ill Will takes place in Copenhagen (where Høgenni was studying – in fact, this was reportedly his graduating project), but the dialogue is primarily in Faroese. It was featured at Cannes, and has been held up as an example of the emerging Faroese film scene. A rich short film that offers room for thought, it offers a nuanced take on friendship in the modern age.
Rachael Crawley holds a Master's Degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University, and has worked with film in Canada and in Europe. She adores language and cinema, and how these subjects interact with each other.