By Liz Lopez
Rating: A+
It was a nice return to attend Fantastic Fest 2021 with both the in person and virtual screenings. It started off great with very good films to put us back in the festival mood that is unique to this one here in Austin. The one film that made me feel as I was “back” to this festival is the Norwegian film The Trip starring one of my favorite actresses, Noomi Rapace. It is one of my favorite of the dark comedy that I viewed in the theater and it was a great experience, and especially thrilled to have the actress introduce the film at the Alamo Drafthouse. This home invasion action thriller film features a couple who have marital problems and decide to take a weekend trip to the cabin in the woods. They are at their wits end and have plans to act out while they are there. To their surprise, there are unexpected visitors and soon they face greater danger and learn how to work together despite their current differences.
Television director Lars (Aksel Hennie) and his wife/actress Lisa (Noomi Rapace, Prometheus) are at the remote cabin owned by his aging father. Lars plans secure funds from her life insurance policy if she were to have an accident out there. Lars is very unaware how smart and capable Lisa is and is caught off guard while in one room. There are great scenes when they are bickering like an old married couple (and they are not old), but they can’t see the forest for the trees anymore within their marriage. It isn’t until they face the danger together that they see how good they can be as a couple, no matter how difficult the situation is and how swiftly it is descending into chaos. It was great to see Noomi Rapace in this role after having viewed her in multiple dramatic roles that are very dark.
If I dare describe any one scene, it will lead to spoilers, so it will just have to be one dark comedy best left to enjoy not knowing much. Be aware that not all the scenes of violence are for all viewers and watch the film knowing there are scenes that may not be suitable for someone who has experienced this type of trauma.
Directed by Tommy Wirkola from a screenplay co-written with Nick Ball and John Niven. The production stars Noomi Rapace, Aksel Hennie, Atle Antonsen, Christian Rubeck, Andre Eriksen, Nils Ole Oftebro, Tor Erik Gunstrøm
It is not rated, but safely can be said to be R for the violence and is 113 minutes in duration.
The Trip will be available for streaming on Netflix on October 15, 2021.
Source: Netflix, Fantastic Fest