Disco

Disco details the low-key exploits of Josefine Frida Pettersen’s Mirjam, a talented singer/dancer who finds herself beginning to question her faith and her own self-worth. Filmmaker Jorunn Myklebust Syversen delivers a deliberately-paced slice-of-life story that benefits substantially from Pettersen’s astonishingly compelling performance, as the actress certainly does an effective job of transforming her affable character into an impressively sympathetic figure. It’s disappointing to note, then, that Disco generally holds the viewer at arms length with its meandering atmosphere, as Syversen spends so much time – about half of the running time, ultimately – focused on various sermons and religious musical numbers. The bombardment of such interludes ensure that Disco is only fleetingly engrossing, although it’s equally clear that the sporadic inclusion of unexpected developments and revelations prove effective at buoying one’s dwindling interest – with, especially, the Jesus Camp climax ensuring that the whole thing ends on a rather positive note. The final result is as erratic a character study as one can easily recall, with the film, at the very least, heralding an exceedingly promising new performer in the guise of star Pettersen.

**1/2 out of ****