Loving Adults
Movie Info:
đĽ Synopsis
“Adults in Love ” (2022), authored by Barbara Rothenborg is a simmering Danish thriller where love, betrayal, and revenge spiral into a deadly game. The thriller is based on the book âKĂŚrlighed for Voksneâ by Anna Ekberg and it revolves around a seemingly tranquil marital relationship that is quietly decaying from within.
It seems that Christian (Dar Salim) and Leonora (Sonja Richter) have it all because they live in a beautiful house, have a handsome teenage son, and a life that every person envies. Everything is in harmony, till the point Leonora finds out that Christian is having an affair with his much younger and energetic colleague Xenia (Sus Wilkins).
Instead of confronting him with the painful truth, she heartbreakingly proposes alternative terms, where she proposes something chillingly rational â claiming that he must make a choice. What ensues is not a divorce, but rather a mental war: a toxic dance between two people who are more aware of each otherâs vulnerabilities than anyone else.
Leonora is far from being just hurt. The more deeper the lies become and more tightly suspicions wind, marital deadlock gets more escalated.
In this household, love isn’t a form of bond. It’s a weapon.
đ Leading Roles
Sonja Richter as Leonora – As usual, Richter is icy, subdued, and quietly menacing all at once. This performance stews with intelligence and fury held in check, the hallmark of a scorned woman who will not be a victim.
Dar Salim as Christian – Salim skillfully portrays a man in the eye of a furious whirlwind. His transformation is striking, from a confident adulterer to a lurking preyâand every step of the way, it’s unnervingly intricate.
Sus Wilkins as Xenia – Wilkins brings a hint of seduction laced with ignorance, taking Xenia from innocent to oblivious until she grasps the perilous game she didnât realize she was part of.
đď¸ Main Ideas and Style
Loving Adults indulges in the contradiction of how things look versus how they truly are, delving into:
Betrayal and revenge – Love is turned inside out and used as a weapon as it morphs into revenge, the chilling mingling of right and wrong is disturbing.
Boundaries and control – A triangle of love does not exist here. In its place is a battleground where individuals are not cherished but rather claimed as possessions.
Marital masks – The couples are dissected revealing how they lie to the worldâand to themselvesâcreating a situation where the truth is far deadlier.The tone is chill and plan, almost black. Each scene is bare bones sequenced, with little to no music and dark imagery which enhances the anxiety.
đ Conclusion
Especially Loving Adults (2022) serves as an underlying narrative of deceit, shame, and revenge encased within the calm of a household. It poses not only the question of what love is, but rather what value does it have when all else is taken away.
