Red Dot Review

 

Certificate: 15

Running time: 85 minutes 

Starring: Nanna Blondell, Johannes Kuhnke, Anastasios Soulis, Kalled Mustonen

Directed by: Alain Darborg

The story: A couple who are on a trip to rekindle their relationship soon find themselves fighting for their lives when they are targeted by an unknown shooter.

The verdict: Nordic films are often most associated with Nordic noir, a genre which gives audiences dark, gritty and ruthless films. And it is fair to say that Netflix’s first Swedish movie definitely encapsulates the Nordic noir genre and Red Dot is a film which only gets darker and more harrowing with each subsequent act. 

Our two main characters in Red Dot are David and Nadja, a young couple who were once madly in love but the stress and reality of adult life has soured their relationship and now they snipe at each other and argue over things like who does the washing. They decide that they need to spend some quality time together and so a trip away is planned. I liked the dynamic of the characters’ relationship and the way that the film introduces us to them. It felt very realistic and straight away we get to know a lot about these characters in a small amount of time. 

It is difficult to say too much about what happens after that because Red Dot is a film which takes its audiences on a journey of twists and turns. All I can say is that I think that how Red Dot unfolds will surprise and perhaps even shock most audiences. 

Without giving too much away, Red Dot has a certain brutality to it that some audiences will struggle with. This is not a film for those who like their fare lighthearted and only like happy endings.

At eighty-five minutes, I found Red Dot’s running time perfect. I was engaged throughout and I didn’t feel like any scenes were superfluous nor did I feel that anything was missing. I enjoyed the performances and was especially impressed with Anastasios Soulis who plays David. 

Red Dot has proven to be very divisive for critics and audiences but I thought that it was a competent and intriguing thriller which had plenty of tension. Red Dot also raises a number of questions about morality, ethics and revenge which I found very thought provoking.

Overall, I find myself in the minority on this one and I thought Red Dot was great.

The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️