Featured Audience Ratings

• Carlos M

  
  An extremely nerve-wracking thriller, where Mads Mikkelsen is fantastic as a man going through a terrifying ordeal. However, it is impossible to overlook some implausibilities, especially the character staying in the town against all good sense and the ridiculous ending.

• The Movie W

  
  Having lost his teaching job, Mikkelsen finds himself working in a daycare center at which he is the sole male member of staff. After escorting home his neighbor's daughter (Wedderkopp), the child develops a crush on him. When he sensibly spurns her affections, she badmouths him… More
  Having lost his teaching job, Mikkelsen finds himself working in a daycare center at which he is the sole male member of staff. After escorting home his neighbor's daughter (Wedderkopp), the child develops a crush on him. When he sensibly spurns her affections, she badmouths him to the owner of the centre, claiming he exposed his genitals to her. Despite protesting his innocence, Mikkelsen is relieved of his position and becomes shunned by the local community, including his closest friends. The more he fights his corner the more ostracized he finds himself with his detractors' actions becoming increasingly aggressive. Thanks to a tabloid media desperate to create headlines, the way adults, and particularly males, interact with children has changed forever. Twenty years ago, were a child to smile at a grown man he would most likely smile back and not give it a second thought. Now we're terrified that a harmless friendly gesture could be misinterpreted as something sinister. Parents have become over-protective, terrified by the myth of hordes of child-catchers roaming the land waiting to snatch any kid who plays outside their house. The reality is that children have never been safer, especially if you're fortunate enough to live in the west. Yes, abuse does occur but it's almost always perpetrated by a family member, not some stranger lurking outside the school gate. There was a time when an adult's word meant more than a child's but that's been turned on it's head now. This is the situation Mikkelsen finds himself in. Even when the child admits she lied it's too late, the adults have made their mind up and do their best to convince her the lie did actually happen. Like the great social dramas of the fifties, this is a film which boils your blood at man's ignorance to his fellow man. You really feel the anger and desperation thanks to Mikkelsen's fantastic performance and Vinterberg's direction. It's not a showy movie by any means but it's full of great moments. An early visit to the father of the "victim" is brilliantly played by Mikkelsen and Larsen. The father's emotion is torn between whether to believe his friend or his daughter but when his wife arrives home he suddenly flies into a rage for her benefit, threatening to kill Mikkelsen if he ever comes near his family again. A violent altercation in a supermarket recalls 'On the Waterfront' as Mikkelsen defiantly demands to collect his groceries despite receiving a beating. There's a great moment of tension when the child turns up on Mikkelsen's door asking to play with his dog, oblivious to the trouble she has caused. 'The Hunt' is a masterful piece of film-making, powerful without being preachy, and an angry indictment of the shuttered world we've built ourselves.

• Panta O

  
  If you like movies to challenge you, I think this Danish drama directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Mads Mikkelsen, can do just that. I found some of the injustice even overwhelming to follow the story calmly but that's just confirmation of the well used skills of this… More
  If you like movies to challenge you, I think this Danish drama directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Mads Mikkelsen, can do just that. I found some of the injustice even overwhelming to follow the story calmly but that's just confirmation of the well used skills of this outstanding director to personally involve the audience. The story follows a man who becomes the target of mass hysteria after being accused of something he never did, and is set in a small Danish village around Christmas... yes, when the "good will" is in its heights. The Hunt focuses on the shocking lie, and its galvanising effect on a close-knit Danish community. The director views this drama in terms of a Hans Christian Anderson tale: "It's a film about the evil from outside, the splinter of glass that enters a community and turns everything blue and fearful." For me, this was one of the better movies from 2012 and there is no wonder that it was chosen for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and competed at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival where Mads Mikkelsen won the Best Actor Award for his excellent performance. His achievement was well deserved, especially knowing that this is the first Danish-language film in the main competition since 1998 - 14 long years! And it came from Vinterberg - a guy who likes drinking, nakedness, freedom of expression... a man who despises the rules and regulations of a well-ordered society. "The mediocre, rational world is my enemy," he declares. "Well-adjusted is the thing that I hate. Well-adjusted means fearful and cowardly. Some of my best friends are crazy, they don't give a shit." Thumbs up, Thomas!

• George M

  
  It has a somewhat disappointing and anti-climatic finale, but the excellent performances, wonderful cinematography and, although conventional, simple and precise direction make this film a very strong experience. It is a very affecting piece of cinema and some set pieces are… More
  It has a somewhat disappointing and anti-climatic finale, but the excellent performances, wonderful cinematography and, although conventional, simple and precise direction make this film a very strong experience. It is a very affecting piece of cinema and some set pieces are crescendos of emotion.

• hawk l

  
  Gripping, but joyless, though astonishing spiral into disaster. Must see.

• Francisco G

  
  A very provocative thriller, beautifuly shot with strong performances all around, The Hunt doesn't just put you on the shoes on this very delicate subject but also explores how it affects everything in a small community and to those close to the acused, becoming a very tough… More
  A very provocative thriller, beautifuly shot with strong performances all around, The Hunt doesn't just put you on the shoes on this very delicate subject but also explores how it affects everything in a small community and to those close to the acused, becoming a very tough experience to endure. Obviously, Mads Mikkelsen shows once again why he's one of the best actors around but this isn't a movie where all the attention is centered on his character, there's some other incredible aspects to admire on this very detailed drama. Even with all the palpable realism that the movie breathes, there's strange decisions here and there that kinda detracts you from the experience. The ending is not very strong and the fact that the main character doesn't leave the town when he could've is a bit staggering.

Read all 6 featured audience ratings