The Hunt suits its Danish setting, with its bleak, cold landscape. The film builds an atmosphere of desolation, which reflects Lucas’ fate as a man who, however much he protests, is guilty until proven innocent. From the outside, it is easy to criticise the parents who jump to conclusions, the children who get swept up in layers of lies and the teachers who believe them so readily, the social workers who put words into children’s mouths, and the townsfolk who so easily ostracise Lucas – yet this is part of its believability. This is everyone’s worst nightmare: what if you were accused of something that you could not prove was untrue?
The performances are excellent, aided no doubt by the actors’ unfamiliarity to a British audience; making this even more of an everyman tale. The little girl, particularly, is outstanding, with such an air of innocence and naiveté that, despite her foolish actions, one cannot help but pity her role in the chaos that ensues. Mikkelsen’s character begins as a quiet, warm man, but as the plot unfolds, descends into a frustrated madness as those he relies upon to support him turn their backs.This is a film with some beautiful sequences, particularly of the deer hunt in autumn; a perfect allegory for Lucas’ situation. Some scenes are impossibly sad, such as when a sickening form of revenge is taken against him, but there are also moments of humour, especially at the beginning of the film, before the mood darkens. Thomas Vinterberg (best known for films such as Festen) has made a thought-provoking film which looks unflinchingly at a community’s hysteria and the speed with which suspicion turns into conviction.