Mads Mikkelsen is back in his homeland for Drunk, the new film by Thomas Vintenberg, the director of Kursk, The Hunt and Festen. Drunk tells the story of four friends, all four high school teachers, whose lives begin to be monotonous and uninteresting. They decide to apply a psychological study that claims that the human being lacks 0.5 grams of alcohol in the blood to be really good about himself. The quartet therefore decided to apply this hypothesis and thus study the result.
Drunk: an overall successful film
Thomas Vintenberg masters his film. Overall, there's not much to fault Drunk. It is a fast-paced, perfectly directed comedy-drama that offers endearing characters and impressive art direction. The story holds up, whether in its plot or in the duration. It's a feature film that knows what it's saying and which direction to go. The comic springs are very successful. And even if the dramatic springs are a little more expected, they are necessary for the unfolding of the plot. Aesthetically, Drunk offers some interesting visual flights, especially in its last part, offering an unforgettable dance by Mads Mikkelsen. In short, Thomas Vintenberg knows what he wants to say. 
The film obviously owes a lot to the remarkable presence of Mads Mikkelsen. An indisputable headliner, he even tends to overshadow his colleagues, who evolve in the shadow of the international star. Too bad, because the writing of their characters is also very interesting. Drunk tells the evolution of the hero, a shy, taciturn teacher, who struggles to be respected by his students and is increasingly invisible to his wife. Thomas Vintenberg tells a story of liberation. That of a man who has lost his self-confidence, his ease, his aplomb, and will try to recover this assurance by applying the theory of 0.5 grams of alcohol in the blood. And finally, this relationship to alcohol is very secondary. Because Drunk does not tell the misadventures of a gang of alcoholics, but the reaffirmation of a man who seeks his virility, his faith and his arrogance. Alcohol is just a pretext. That a vector, for these characters who seek their past adolescence, their joys of yesteryear, and an affirmation of another era.
Drunk may be slightly lacking in audacity
However, Drunk is sometimes limited in its subject. Thomas Vintenberg sometimes gives the impression of lacking material to his script. Because the topics addressed by Drunk are finally quite classic. The filmmaker evokes the loss of libido, depression, adultery, boredom, loneliness, lack, regrets, in short subjects inherent to the status of forty. It deals with old age, the fall, the disappearance of youth and all that goes with it. And alcohol then becomes only a chrysalis, an envelope, a vector that dresses tribulations finally quite simplistic, but fortunately not devoid of interest. Overall, Drunk tells the famous midlife crisis, with a more original angle than the whole coming. 
Nevertheless, the non-judgmental approach employed by Thomas Vintenberg should be emphasized. The filmmaker refuses to fall into judgment, and to criticize or condone this excessive consumption of alcohol. He does not prefer to decide and thus let the spectator make his own choice. But by this decision, Thomas Vintenberg refuses to take a position. He offers a somewhat succinct message: "alcohol consumption is good, but not for everyone". A rather simplistic conclusion, which allows the affirmation of the character of Mads Mikkelsen, to the detriment of another protagonist, for whom alcohol will be a slow and painful descent into hell. Remains the evolution of the character of Mads Mikkelsen, quite impressive, especially thanks to the flawless interpretation of the actor. The development of this hero is finally very successful, going through different stages of a total moral and psychological reconstruction. Between the beginning and the end of the film, the protagonist resembles two totally different people. We can also regret that Thomas Vintenberg does not focus more on his other characters. Preferring to narrate more deeply the adventures of the character played by Mads Mikkelsen, even if it means discarding the subplots of his colleagues. Finally, Drunk perhaps lacks, very slightly, some comic springs more highlighted, and a more ambitious staging. But all this is just nitpicking, and Drunk is certainly worth seeing, especially for the impressive performance of Mads Mikkelsen! Drunk is overall effective. The rhythm holds up, the characters are endearing, the subject is interesting. However, something is missing, perhaps in the staging, or in the plot sometimes telephoned. We still advise without moderation. https://youtu.be/JsGbO9X-C-8
