En frygtelig kvinde

I knew it would attract a bunch of loser misogynistic men and some weird women who also hate women. I read from someone that the director was also sounding like a misogynist in his tour blaming all on women in relationships.

Right now, I am watching a lot of films about any type of relationship dysfunction. This is not a gender issue. If you are like Rasmus, either have no goal or specific trait in life, or you have one but never stand up for yourself, and get attracted to dominant characters like her *it could be a man too* then you are used like a door mat.

This director's 'speak no evil' was about asserting yourself and your boundaries, this type a couple and their daughter were harmed as a result of their lack of trust in their own instincts, overlooking red flags, self-doubting about right or wrong, being too kind.

Same thing in this film, but this time, the dynamic is not friendship but a romantic relationship of 1-to-1.

I believe this recent triology is about boundaries, regardless of gender or the nature of relationship. I like it in that sense, but I wish he could show a bit more sensitivity over the title knowing some kind of men will use this to criticise and attack women.

...she breaks the fourth wall twice just to let us know that she knows she is horrible too. Ok, got it, now what was the point of that? There is no depth to the characters, they were all good and engaging actors but they were all playing strictly one note ciphers - most likely the intention of the director, to get the audience to fill in the gaps from their own perspectives so the film can be considered deep and introspective, instead of just what it really is, shallow and superficial with obivous stereotypes - the harried husband and the harridan wife, ok, got it, and again, I ask, now what was the point of that?

If you don't look after your self, and who you are as a person, you are in risk of loosing your self. This movie shows all the warnings before you are inside the event horizon, where it is almost impossible to get back.

A question many viewers may have on leaving A Horrible Woman (2017)is whether the film's title is meant to be ironic or judgemental. Today's gender politics make such questions inescapably loaded but this film can also be read as a portrait of perfect complementarity between the sexes.

A simple plotline keeps the focus on its two principal characters. Likeable bachelor Rasmus (Anders Juul) envies his friends' long-term relationships yet values his freedom until he meets the beautiful, vivacious, and interested Marie (Amanda Collin). They are well matched: she is forward and assertive, he is quiet and compliant. Each time she advances into his emotional space, he yields ground. She moves into his apartment and changes everything, while he squirms but is powerless to act.

We observe the story through two frames: one is through the eyes of friends who envy Rasmus his good fortune; the other is through his own diminishing sense of self. The more she deploys femininity to manipulate him the more he meekly acquiesces. In two different scenes, asMarie reaches new thresholds of control, she makes eye contact with us, the viewer, in a "look at what I can do" moment. Chillingly, this conscious duplicity may also be a signal of mental illness and it leaves no doubt that Marie is conscious of her power. Rather than sympathise with her victim, his weakness tempts us to think he deserves what she dishes out. The story takes a few twists and turns through his attempts to stand up to her, but his efforts are not enough to alter the narrative arc of his emasculation.

What are we to make of this unusual film? The director has been attacked as a misogynist, but the recognisability of Rasmus and Marie and their complementary characteristics makes this a broader study of relationships, rather than just another gender battle. They could have swapped gender and the story would play out with as much veracity, but perhaps less entertainment. If this is a valid litmus test, then the film rises above gender discourse.

The performances of the two stars are exemplary. Amanda Collins excels across her repertoire of feminine wiles while Anders Juul is her perfect guileless pawn. The filming style is claustrophobic Nordic domestic drama, with enough black humour to lighten its load. This entertaining study of gender roles makes you wonder how the planet has survived so long.

First, you have to thank the creators of the film for their courage in times when it is a politically correct opinion that women are the "better" people to make such a movie. There are very few countries in the world where freedom of thought and speech is as normal as in Denmark.

This film is a very deep analysis of female subtle exercise of power. A film to which you can attach two more parts. I hope that this film is not only in Denmark in the cinema.

It is not understandable when the critic simply asks himself if the director hates women. Even if it were so, what should be inferred from it? Is this supposed woman-hater put on the politically correct wall? There are currently hundreds of correct films about strong women fighting bad guys. Are these all male haters? It does not matter if anyone hates women or not. It's about a perfect analysis of female behavior, presented here in a comedy with much bitter truth. Not more!

At the post-screening of the film in Lübeck (nordic film week), the women who spoke out praised the film very much. A psychiatric doctor (a woman...) has even confirmed that control delusion and subtle exercise of power is a typical diagnosis among women. The director's brother was very surprised ...

What should love be? Is love respect or domination? A great cinematic analysis with bitter humor from a male perspective was created here.

I wish all people to open their eyes and creatively allow a new sovereign and free discussion on the gender war. This film is a milestone on this meaning.