The Audition

Directed by Ina Weisse, The Audition follows tightly-wound violin teacher Anna (Nina Hoss) as she slowly begins to unravel in the face of several personal setbacks. Filmmaker Weisse has infused The Audition with an exceedingly (and somewhat excessively) deliberate pace that does tend to hold the viewer at arms length, as the movie is, especially in its early stages, concerned predominantly with the mundane day-to-day exploits of the central character (eg Anna practices with her string ensemble, Anna tutors a promising student, etc) – with the slice-of-life vibe certainly reflected in the no-nonsense visuals and across-the-board authentic performances. (Hoss is especially compelling here, no doubt.) It’s ultimately the lack of drama or tension that prevents The Audition from becoming more than just a showcase for the actors’ solid work, although, to be fair, the picture does come alive as it progresses past the one-hour mark – with the central character’s increasingly coming-apart-at-the-seams demeanor infusing the proceedings with much-needed electricity. The Whiplash-like breakdown towards the end is certainly a prime example of this, and the movie is, ultimately, a decent little character study that could (and should) have been better.

**1/2 out of ****