Portland

The narrative of a young delinquent who fails to embody his own “carefree” philosophy as he attempts to exit his life of crime, inadvertently pulling his younger brother into it, had the potential to be compelling. Regrettably, the execution falls short. As is often the case with Danish films, there is a lack of attention to detail, resulting in criminals who speak as if they’ve attended a business school rather than served time in prison. The dialects are misplaced, and the quirky bikers lack both motorcycles and depth. The film’s increasingly surreal conclusion does little to alleviate its sluggish pace, but it does offer a hint of what the story might have developed into.