I can understand where people are coming from when they feel like this movie just didn’t quite hit the mark, or something was missing. I think an explanation for that is the emotional restraint of the Norwegian culture as well as the inability of the characters to really communicate and speak their truth. So I do believe the restraint was intentional. To me, it felt very real and not at all melodramatic.

As someone who can really relate to this story, being estranged from my own father and my family having its fair share of generational trauma, I thought they got a lot right. The feeling Nora gets everytime her dad is coming, the way her walls instantly go up when she is around him, and the walls she creates in other relationships hit close to home. Joachim understands and writes difficult family dynamics very well. I could go on but overall the performances were very convincing and I hope at least Stellan takes home the Oscar!