A Second Chance

"How far would you go?"

2015 1h 43m DA

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 167

ThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Detectives and best friends Andreas and Simon lead vastly different lives; Andreas has settled down with his beautiful wife and son; while Simon, recently divorced, spends most of his waking hours getting drunk at the local strip club. But all that changes when the two of them are called out to a domestic dispute between a junkie couple, caught in a vicious cycle of violence and drugs. It all looks very routine – until Andreas finds the couple's infant son, crying in a closet. The usually collected policeman finds himself confronted with his own powerlessness and is shaken to his core. As Andreas slowly loses his grip on justice, it suddenly becomes up to the unruly Simon to restore the balance between right and wrong.

“How far would you go?”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

PhiloSubscription

Fandor Amazon ChannelSubscription

FlixFlingSubscription

Cast

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Andreas
Ulrich Thomsen
Simon
Nikolaj Lie Kaas
Tristan
May Andersen
Sanne
Maria Bonnevie
Anna
Kirsten Lehfeldt
Julie
Peter Haber
Gustav
Ewa Fröling
Ingrid

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Susanne Bier
Writers: Anders Thomas Jensen, Susanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen
Languages: Danish, Swedish
Countries: Denmark, Sweden

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Danish, Swedish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Denmark, Sweden.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Susanne Bier, shot by Michael Snyman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Johan Söderqvist. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Pernille Bech Christensen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Susanne Bier directs. Michael Snyman behind the camera. Johan Söderqvist scores. Pernille Bech Christensen cuts. Produced in Denmark, Sweden. Dialogue in Danish, Swedish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $4.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 11 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Danish, Swedish.
4International production across 2 countries: Denmark, Sweden.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Susanne Bier, shot by Michael Snyman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Johan Söderqvist. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Pernille Bech Christensen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Ulrich Thomsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "How far would you go?".
11IMDB entry: tt3305316 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Snyman
Original score: Johan Söderqvist
Editing: Pernille Bech Christensen
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,700,000
Original language: DA
IMDB: A Second Chance (2015)

Also by

Susanne Bier

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-09-09
★ 8/10
When the GOOD is as bad as the BAD it become. I was not sure about watching this film, but like usual ignoring the critics made me realise how much it was underrated. From the director of the Oscar winning film 'In a Better World'. After that great feat which ignited her international career, quite did not go well accordingly, including one project in the Hollywood. So she went back and made this Danish thriller-drama. Very strongly written screenplay, but feels it has flaws and then on its progress, they had all patched so brilliantly to make you think yourself you had got so wrong. It was not based on any book, but looks it could make one fine. This is a story of 'the good' and 'the bad', and when 'the good' turns very bad, what would 'the bad' decide to do. A decent middle class couple who can do anything for their newborn child and another couple who are drug addicts whose newborn was completely neglected. When the tragedy strike in one of these families, the nightmare begins for another. A series of events follows where they all go for an extra mile to get a second chance. So see it to believe what people are capable when they are in the desperate situation. Like the title and its tagline indicating, the narration carefully and intensely built the plot in the first act. That is the part you have to be watchful to learn the characters which is obviously a bit slower than the rest of the film. In the second half where it all turns to one direction to move on with a couple of quick twists. Totally unpredictable stuffs, because they were silly or maybe kind of familiar and you won't expect that to happen, but it does. I think that was the very clever, beside the powerful performance had brought a good balance between the pace and the contents of the film. "People look different when they are dead. That's just how it is." It did not win any big awards internationally or contended for the Oscars, but still the film is worth a watch. No matter what the critics say, this is one of the best films of the year. Like I said the story might look stupid in the paper, but the filmmakers stunning presented it on the screen. I won't be surprised if an improvised versions were made in other languages including Hollywood. After those fine progress it made in the middle part, the conclusion was somewhat ordinary. It suddenly skips a couple of years forward with one final short scene before the credits roll up which will make us feel good. That was a nice way to end after the shock the narration had given to us. From the actors, Nikolaj Coaster-Wakdau was the screenpace ruler and did not fail to deliver. If this film is winning an award means he should be on the top of the list from the film followed by the direction and screenplay. In one of the film posters he just looks alike the current James Bond, the film was a lot better than the impression the posters give. His co-stars were not bad either. There is sentiment in it, but not that effective, so the lack of melodrama is the big drawback. A theme like this should have bettered that part in order to make the overall film even better. Because the characters do not count when the subject it dealing with was has much higher priority. So the viewers always would be busy looking for what might happen to the story rather thinking its characters all the time. And that is because of the neutrality. Like I said before when 'the good' is as bad as 'the bad' it become, then everything end in an equal position and you might stop backing anyone particularly. There are many films like this, but this is kind of refreshing and very realistic. Definitely, I must end my review recommending it. So I hope you all enjoy it as I did. 8/10

Production companies