A score of 3.8, not a single review and it's been called the worst Finnish movie of 2012. I don't quite agree.
Since there are no other reviews, I'm gonna write something about the plot too, but I'll try not to spoil anything. We have a young couple who are about to get married. One day, casually during breakfast, Veera asks Sakari if he would help her kill her dad. Sakari doesn't quite know what to make of it. From here on, we witness Veera going deeper into her plan to kill her dad and Sakari trying to figure out what to do, he tries to get help, but eventually is also dragged into the plot - even if he doesn't really plan on doing it.
There's lot's of good stuff going on in this movie, I'll start with those. The movie looks really good, it's really beautifully filmed and the cast is great. The couple is quite uncommon for a Finnish movie, they feel real even if you don't agree with their actions. Both Jarkko Niemi and Jemina Sillanpää do amazing job here, they feel somewhat humble in contrast to most common Finnish actors and actresses. There is no theatrical exaggerated acting, but very nuanced performances. I don't usually like Finnish movies, because in most cases the cast is filled with arrogant assholes (pardon my french), but these two feel real, vulnerable, fragile.
The story has been criticized for the lack of credibility. Why would a sensible man like Sakari stay with Veera who is clearly not well and why would he make such decisions he does here. This is said in every single review I've read and I can't help but think if people are just blinded by this and parroting it themselves. It's true, that in real life you would probably not make decisions they do in this movie, but you seldom do. That's what makes movies interesting.
I must note also that the portrayal of love and relationship is very different here than it often is in Finnish movies. These two actually seem to care (or have cared) about each other even if it doesn't seem rational. It's much more common in Finnish movies that you witness adultery and breakup rather than a couple actually staying together when things get difficult.
Having said all this, the movie is not completely without problems. The script could be better. There are quite a few questions that are left unanswered. How did Veera end up with Sakari and was she always like this, have they been together for long. What triggered the urge to kill her father now. What happened to Veeras mother. And it's true, you do wonder why Sakari does some of his decisions. It might've been a good idea to build up Veera's character a bit more and show why she is the woman Sakari wants to marry, as that might be a bit hard to agree on with the information given.
I think a lot about this movie comes down whether you like the couple or not. If you don't care about the characters, you probably won't swallow the plot either. I actually found both of them quite interesting. There are tons of movies with a femme fatale luring a man into her world and sometimes delusional realm and people have no problem digesting that. Veera is not the wild and crazy femme you might expect to see here, but she's a fragile, confused young woman with lot's of repressed feelings.
It's too bad that people got hung up with some of the so called illogicalities of this movie. And it's also too bad that the script went thru like this, it could've needed beefing up in a few places. I'd say see it with an open mind tho, don't read many of the reviews. I hope the director will come back with other movies.
Oh btw, this movie has one of the greatest opening scenes I have ever seen. It's really, really good.
