Aftermath

Having suffered the death of their 12-year-old daughter in a traffic accident, Britt and Claes (Grabol and Birkkjaer, both excellent) become dangerously estranged from each other as well as their friends and professional obligations. Britt, a social worker, becomes inappropriately enmeshed in the life of a troubled client and her baby girl; Claes, an architect, acts out at work and seems bent on revenge. The impressive, beautifully composed first feature by Danish actress Steen (familiar from ‘The Celebration’ and ‘Open Hearts’) develops a multitextured ensemble around the central wound of a couple’s bottomless shared sorrow, and takes some startlingly dark turns as Britt and Claes throw their moorings away and then fumblingly regain them.