Movie Review

Open Hearts (2003)

Reviewed by Lisa Schwarzbaum | Feb 26, 2003

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Lisa Schwarzbaum is a film critic for EW

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EW's GRADE

B+

Details Limited Release: Feb 21, 2003; Length: 113 Minutes; Genres: Drama, Foreign Language; With: Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Sonja Richter

DOCTOR KNOWS BEST Richter looks to Mikkelsen for support

Open Hearts is a striking Danish drama of tragedy and adultery, directed by Susanne Bier. This story couldn't be more Lifetime (or ''Days of Our Lives''): A car accident wrecks a young couple's wedding plans, and while her paralyzed fiance (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) rages in a hospital bed, the disconsolate bride-to-be (Sonja Richter) turns to a staff doctor (Mads Mikkelsen) for solace -- and soon for passion. But honesty, conveyed by the actors' unsentimental performances, Anders Thomas Jensen's truth-seeking script, and an effective use of the Dogma 95 style of hand-held filmmaking, invigorates Bier's well-made film. Indeed, discovering such a small pleasure is the kind of experience that rewards film lovers who browse with open eyes as well as hearts.

Originally posted Feb 28, 2003 Published in issue #699 Mar 07, 2003 Order article reprints

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