Sweeney Todd... if he were a butcher?*

I watched this as part of my run through Mads Mikkelsen's filmography, but it may as well be a Nikolaj Lie Kaas 'watchathon' given how often he has appeared - not that I'm complaining, I like him as an actor. Him and Mikkelsen (how about that trim!) are terrific all the way through this 2003 flick.

The story is a surprisingly simple one but is one that never bores or overstays its welcome, the 90 or so minute run time is perfectly selected in that regard. It's a pretty messed up story but an entertaining one at that, you can probably predict large portions from a certain point - yet even then there are still bits that are against that grain.

Humour-wise it's solid if not spectacular, though a lot of it is naturally likely lost in translation... it still has its moments, mind. Elsewhere, I enjoyed the score a fair amount, it reminded me ever so slightly of a tiny bit of music from 2011's (outstanding) 'Source Code'.

In short: 'The Green Butchers' is excellent. I'd personally recommend that you check it out.

*looks like Andy Milligan and John Miranda did just that 33 years prior this with 'Bloodthirsty Butchers'... kudos!

The Green Butchers is an early output from the Danish director/writer Anders Thomas Jensen and his unofficial troupe, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Nicolas Bro and like his more recent output, The Riders of Justice, is a strange tale of mistaken beliefs, death, mental health problems all cloaked but normal mundane settings and people. Like any film you get from this one what you want. It could be billed as a dark, dark, comedy with horror and potentially gruesome elements yet it has few laugh-out-loud moments and little real violence or gore. It made me snort or giggle but not laugh out loud but equally the ‘horror’ aspects did not really make me winch or anxious.

One thing you must be aware if you take a dip into this film or any by Jensen is there is often a lack of good taste. In this case the subject matter, which I will not spoil for those who have not seen the film, is in itself fairly repulsive, and Nikolaj Lie Kaas who plays both of the brothers, the depressed Bjarne impressively and his brain-damaged brother Egil a little over the top and perhaps distastefully, much like Bro in The Riders of Justice.

Mads Mikkelsen shows his acting chops even this early showing and topped off with his made hairline and hair you may see him in an entirely different light if you are only used to his English language output. He and Kaas certainly play off each other well and hold the film together. The third hand in the cast is Line Kruse who plays the kind-hearted and lovely Astrid that eventually unravels the friends' scheme. Being the main three characters, the film is better for it and Jensen clearly knows a good thing when he sees it sticking to his ‘cast’ as much as he could for future projects.

The Green Butchers' story slowly unfolds and is all the better for it as it allows the grotesque story to develop and gives the characters of Svend and Bjarne time to flesh out, yet it never outstays its welcome. As with other Jensen films, the overall acting is natural and all the characters, despite their giant quirks, are believable, even if you would want nothing to do with them. What is particularly enjoyable is how the story bowls along, happy to subvert your expectations as it dives down an avenue you never expected, especially if you watch the output of popular Hollywood. In particular, the ending is as odd as you will see for some time.

To really figure out what The Green Butchers is about you must dig below the surface of what seems to be a simple story. Here you find regret, forgiveness, new beginnings and believing in yourself, but not in any way you have seen these tackled before.

Overall, The Green Butchers is strange enough to hold your attention, interesting and different it hits most of its marks but like a lot of the more left-field output you can see in the cinema this has to strike a chord with you straight away or at least you have to be in the right mood.

For me it makes me want to seek out further output from the sometimes contributor to the Dogme film movement, for others just this sentence will make you give it a miss.

It is all good either way.