Men & Chicken, 2015.
Directed by Anders Thomas Jensen.
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, David Dencik, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Soren Malling and Nicolas Bro.
SYNOPSIS:
Brothers Gabriel (David Dencik) and Elias (Mads Mikkelsen) discover the man who brought them up wasn’t their biological father, nor did they share the same mother. They track down their real father in a sanatorium on a remote island, where he lives with three more sons, again all with different mothers. Yet they all share the same facial characteristic. And the longer the two brothers stay, the more they discover about their parentage.
You can’t choose your relatives. And, much as we’d all love to have the proverbial ideal family, the reality is usually further away than we’d like. Not The Waltons, that’s for sure. But what happens if you discover your family is hiding a shockingly unpleasant secret? They’re still family, after all ……
It’s the dilemma that confronts Elias and Gabriel in Men & Chicken. Best summed up as a warped fairy tale, it takes serious themes like the sanctity of life, regardless of its quality, and mixes them with violence, grotesque humour and just a bit of bestiality thrown in for good measure. A real melting pot.
The humour takes you by surprise, but it does make you laugh – out loud at times. It’s a dark and bleak and frequently ventures into the perverse. Such as the video left by the two brothers’ father which is so badly framed that the camera is permanently directed at the old man’s crotch. Or the vicious beatings they receive from what turn out to be their other brothers when they turn up in the hope of meeting their real dad. Grim and uncomfortable, yes, but funny nonetheless.
All five brothers behave in the strangest of ways and physically they’re less than attractive. The actors are all disguised, to a greater or lesser degree, under the most macabre of make-up. Gregor (Nikolaj Lie Kaas, a long way from The Keeper Of Lost Causes series) sports a pudding basin hair cut and Mikkelsen is almost unrecognisable, as well as being miles away from his usual territory and relishing the change in tone. Tactless and generally uncomfortable with other people, he’s obsessed with sex, so much so that he carries toilet paper with him for all the times he has to release that pent-up tension. The other actors have a ball with their characters as well, making sure that each brother is distinctive in his own right, especially as they share more than just a facial characteristic. Their attitudes and actions are similar as well and, in many ways, they’re big kids.
The ramshackle house on the island is a complete mess, filthy and overrun with animals, chickens in particular, some of which have the most curious mutations. It hides a secret that’s grim to the point of stomach turning but, given the twisted nature of the film, anything less would have been a let-down. The all-important revelation isn’t unwatchable, but it’s not exactly done in the best possible taste either.
What starts out as a grotesquely hilarious comedy shifts gear in the second half, becoming darker and more warped in the second. By the time the end is in sight, the tone is sinister and even more disturbing than ever. Yet, although it’s not the most comfortable of watches, it’s a film that challenges you to watch. You accept willingly, because of the laughter and the energetic way the five actors attack their roles. And the biggest surprise of all is how much you sympathise with them.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Freda Cooper – Follow me on Twitter, check out my movie blog and listen to my podcast, Talking Pictures.
. url=”.” . width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]
Originally published July 13, 2016. Updated November 14, 2019.
