Aberdeen

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Singleton</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>It was just something I said</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Tomas: Stellan Skarsgard</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Kaisa: Lena Headey</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><div> Clive: Ian Hart</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Helen: Charlotte Rampling</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Writer/Director: Hans Peter Moland</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>30 Second Bottom Line</B>: An estranged father and his grown daughter are reunited on a road trip to visit the mother/former lover who insists that they all get together. None of them have any love lost for one another.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line:</B> Kaisa (Lena Headey) is an attractive party girl who has just had a grand evening after a promotion at her London law firm. Awakened long before she is ready to get up by her mother Helen (Charlotte Rampling), she reluctantly agrees to fetch her father Tomas (Stellan Skarsgard) in Norway, whom she has not seen or spoken to in 10 years. The supposed reason is because they are to get married (they never were before and they have been separated for quite some time). Helen (Charlotte Rampling) wants to see both of them in what at best would be described as a fractured family reunion. </div> <bR> <div> Tomas is a retired oil rig worker who was away from home much of the time and when he was there, it was in body much more than spirit. Although no alcohol was allowed on the oil rigs, he's now a certified drunk. He's more than a hand full for Kaisa to bring back and after a scene in the airport, they are not allowed on the plane. Kaisa has a rented car, which she then uses to make the trip to Aberdeen, Scotland with her father. Tomas and Kaisa are the opposite of two peas in a pod. She views their trip as a business assignment and he is ten sheets to the wind so often that he'd be happy doing almost anything but going to see Helen. Like all road trip films, strange events occur along the way and this is no different. When they have a flat tire and get a ride from truck driver Clive (Ian Hart), the dynamics of the film go in a direction that sets it apart from anything you've likely seen before.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Tell Me More About It</B>: Life is about relationships and as you get to know Tomas, Kaisa, Clive and Helen, you really travel inside their heads. There is nudity, public drunkenness, cocaine nose bleeds, deathbed statements, fist fights, provocative sex, truthfulness that makes you laugh and lies that make you cry. The acting is first rate and although some of the events don't ring true and the time line is drawn out more than what seems real for a 450 mile trip, your attention is maintained with a high level of suspense that surpasses most thrillers. <I>Aberdeen</I> has the day to day real world earthiness that I liked so much in <I><B>Lantana. </B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Royal Tenenbaums</B></I> doesn't hold a candle to the dysfunctionality of Kaisa, Helen and Tomas. The former is an arty yet unreal quirky comedy while the latter reminds me of many people I know, including myself. They don't all exist in the same family, but substance abuse users, couples who will say mean things in the heat of battle, young adults who seem to have it all who are unhappy are more plentiful than I'd like to count. Some come out of it and others do not. </div> <bR> <div> Although <I>Aberdeen </I>has loads of twists and turns, some rather convenient to fit the plot of the story, we do see how and why people can at times let go of the past and move on without doing anything heroic or particularly dramatic. Because life is a continuous set of challenges, personal development never ends. If you have any doubts about that, as you come to understand the unique characteristics of this family from <I>Aberdeen</I> you may find yourself asking questions about some of your relationships that are in need of change. </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Not Rated (frontal nudity, language and violence)</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> George O. Singleton © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>George@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Mini Filmography </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Stellan Skarsgard: <I><B>Signs & Wonders;</B></I> <I><B>The Glass House</B></I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Lena Headey: Onegin</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Ian Hart: <I><B>Spring Forward</B></I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Charlotte Rampling: <I><B>Signs & Wonders;</B></I> <I><B>Under the Sand</B></I></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Hans Peter Moland: Zero Kelvin</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="286" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>