Anticipation.
Ready for more Alma Pöysti after a great performance in Fallen Leaves.
Enjoyment.
Baffled by Matias’ lack of rizz. How do both these women want to be with him?!
In Retrospect.
Earnest as a conversation-starter about polyamory, but let down by its more soapy trappings.
Can infidelity turn into polyamory? When Equality Party MP Juulia (Alma Pöysti) discovers that her vicar husband Matias (Eero Milonoff) has been having an affair, she begins to seriously grapple with this quandary, and ends up suggesting to him and his paramour, Enni (Oona Airola) that they should keep seeing each other. This comes early on in the film’s first half as an abrupt and overt impetus to drive Juulia towards the final puzzle piece to complete the quartet: Miska (Pietu Wikström). But this is fine! Maybe we’re in for some interesting politics in terms of how the decision to have multiple partners plays out in the married pairs’ professions? Well, not exactly…
This is more an exploration of adults as fragile (and hence “little”) beings, especially when adjusting to new circumstances, which is employed with cute, infantilising tricks: Enni stopping in her tracks and plopping down in the middle of a public path, legs akimbo; Juulia seeking consolation by climbing into Matias’ lap the way a child would; Miska hiding under the covers to avoid a moment of confrontation. The messiness is more than welcome, and Vilhunen doesn’t shy away from the ugly stuff. The film is underscored by endearing and comedic moments that keep it from falling flat, but it’s ultimately challenging to see beyond the structurally rote contrivances on display.
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