Miss Flicks

The Innocents: Film Review

Eskil Vogt, who was nominated for an Original Screenplay Oscar earlier this year for The Worst Person in the World, received two doses of acclaim at last year’s Cannes as he also debuted his unsettling psychological thriller The Innocents.

The Norwegian film, written and directed by Vogt, follows a young girl named Ida (Rakel Lenora Fløttum), who moves to a new housing estate with her parents and autistic sister Anna (Alva Brynsmo Ramstad). Ida resents Anna receiving all their attention so spends her days outside playing with new friends Aisha (Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim) and Ben (Sam Ashraf) in the playground and nearby woods. But they’re not ordinary children – they have special powers – and what begins as innocent play becomes more and more dangerous.

This film was much darker than I was expecting! It’s all fun and games at the start when they’re learning what they can do with their powers and how to control them. But as they gain more experience and confidence, one of them turns to the dark side and starts to use their power to cause harm to others.

As the title suggests, the film starts off very light and innocent and we’re simply watching kids play. But it doesn’t take long for this to change and the dark thriller to begin. Vogt successfully builds the tension and creates a sense of foreboding and a chilling and unnerving atmosphere, especially in the final hour, and I was hooked waiting to see how it was all going to pan out.

Given that these are all young children, their performances are impressive. The story is told through the eyes of Ida and she doesn’t seem very likeable at first – she’s not kind to her sister – but that changes as she is confronted with what’s right and wrong in a major way. They all do very well with the dark material, but my particular favourite was Asheim, who believably portrays someone who can truly and deeply feel what others are feeling.

I was really impressed by The Innocents and the story took me by surprise. Definitely worth checking out.

In cinemas and on digital from Friday 20th May