Uno Review
By David Kempler
Thugging It Up In Oslo
For those of you who like your violence up close and personal, "
Uno" is just what the doctor ordered. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some doctors were needed on the set of this Norwegian film that comes as close to portraying fist and boot hitting flesh as I've seen in quite some time. I don't know if you'll like this film because the violence is intense. To my right and left in the theater were two women who couldn't push their seats far enough away from the screen when the violence took place and since you never have to wait more than a few minutes for some good skin thumping, the two ladies probably succeeded in moving their chairs a few inches backwards.
"Uno" is directed by Aksel Hennie, who also stars as David. David is the moral compass of the film or as close as one can be to one in this brutality fest. David is a twenty something average Joe who works at a local gym. At home lies his dying father and his brother Kjetil (Espen Juul Kristiansen) who suffers from Down's syndrome. Kjetil spends most of his time cheating at Uno. His mom (Live Barnhart Rosa) is the reasonable anchor to the family who has no delusions of the life her son leads or of life in general. She is resigned to her fate and for the most part she's just there. To escape his home life David spends most of his time in the family's storage locker in the basement. The gym serves as his surrogate family, with the owner Jarle (Bjorn Feldberg) presiding over the other twenty something gym rats. The gym fails to provide much of a respite from David's tension filled life. This stems primarily from Jarle's son carrying a gun and dealing drugs out of the gym.
When the police raid the gym and take all of the young men to prison for interrogation, it is David that gives up the name of the guilty party in order to get home to see his dying father. This sets off a chain reaction of everyone wanting to beat the piss out of David, and they take turns doing just that. Friendships and loyalties are tested all around here and it's really not a very pretty picture. "Uno" has parts that remind me of the film classic "The Warriors" and an ending that made me smile as I remembered the first time I saw "The Gambler," starring James Caan. If you don't particularly enjoy seeing flesh disfigured by various blunt objects, then this film is not for you. For the rest of us it is an interesting story of the streets of Oslo. Add one star if your juices flow at the sight of a good beating.
