Applause

There’s little doubt that Applause benefits substantially from star Paprika Steen’s affecting, downright commanding performance, as the film is otherwise a fairly standard character study revolving around a substance abuser attempting to pull her life together. Thea (Steen) is a relatively famous Danish actress who appears to be delivering the performance of her life night after night on the stage, yet her attempts at picking up the pieces of her fractured personal life, stemming from a long stint of alcoholism, tend to bring her nothing but frustration and rejection (with her ongoing efforts at reconnecting with her two small children rife with problems and complications). It’s a familiar set-up that’s employed to gritty effect by filmmaker Martin Pieter Zandvliet, as the movie boasts a grainy visual style that aptly complements Zandvliet and Anders Frithiof August’s low-key screenplay. The director’s decision to shoot the majority of the proceedings in tight close-ups ensures that Steen has her work cut out for her, although it’s instantly clear that the veteran actress is more than up to the task. Steen delivers as fearless and engrossing a performance as one can easily recall, and there’s little doubt that the film ultimately finds itself unable to elevate itself to her level. This is particularly evident in the movie’s final half hour, which suffers from a meandering sensibility that’s reflected in the inclusion of several sequences that seem to have been padded out to buff up the running time (eg Thea’s ill-fated encounter with a persistent bar patron). It’s subsequently not surprising to note that the climax is hardly able to pack the emotional punch that Zandvliet is obviously striving for, and it’s finally impossible to label Applause as anything more than a showcase for Steen’s tour-de-force performance.

**1/2 out of ****