A Place Nearby

Rostrup's third feature film, from a novella by Martha Christensen, explores the relationship of devoted Fru Nielsen (Nørby) and her autistic adult son Brian (Lindhardt), who becomes a suspect in a murder enquiry. Investigating officer Jespersen (Helmuth), renowned as a man who always gets his prey, is frustrated by the mother's desperate attempts to cover up or destroy evidence which might implicate her son. Exemplary camerawork and an arresting use of light underscore the tensions between the apparent innocence of the protagonists and the darker possibility of a more sinister scenario. The film is peppered with memorable cameos: an eccentric bag lady, the junkies living upstairs, and the charmingly camp family friend, the Baron (Moritzen, odious patriarch of Festen), who provide relief from the charged interaction between Nørby and Lindhardt.