Halfdan Ulmann Tøndel's scathing primary set school drama Armand features a stunning lead performance by Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World). Reinsve plays Elisabeth, a mother of Armand, a troubled 6 year old kid who is accused of sexual assault on a classmate. The supposed victim is a son of Sarah (Ellen Dorrit Petersen), who is a sister of Thomas, Elisabeth's dead husband. The emergency PT conference is called in the backdrop of the empty, old primary school since the school is out for summer. Elisabeth is first seen frantically driving to school, trying to connect to Armand on the phone. With jewelry, makeup, a revealing top and high heels, she exudes a partygirl vibe. She wipes off her lipstick before she enters the school. Waiting there in school are - harried principal Jarle (Øystein Røger), an inexperienced young teacher Sunna (Thea Lambrechts Vaulen), and an administrator Ajsa (Vera Veljovic-Jovanovic), as well as Sarah and husband Anders(Endre Hellestveit).
An attempt, led by Sunna, to appease both parent parties and make light of the situation fails miserably as the temper and accusations fly. It's a serious accusation that Armand hit the kid and pulled his pants down and uttered the words 'anal sex'. The situation is too much for a young teacher to handle. Jarle and Ajsa step in. As they weigh in the steps that need to be taken by the school, Elisabeth has a laughing fit that lasts several minutes, as everyone else increasingly feels uncomfortable. It's as if she is sabotaging the process and dragging it out, as if she doesn't want to face the accusations. Sarah is convinced that Elisabeth, an actor, is out to manipulate the situation by creating a drama and making everything about herself, the victim. She urges Jarle and everyone to consider Elisabeth's profession, and in turn her mental fitness for being a mother. Who knows if she has something to do with Thomas's accidental death? Jarle who has known Thomas and Sarah since they were kids who attended the same school, increasingly believes Sarah's opinion of her.
Armand reminded me of another Scandinavian film with the similar subject, Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt, starring Mads Mikkelsen, a kindergarten teacher accused of a sexual abuse by a young girl, which turns out to be a little lie. A grandson of Liv Ulmann and Ingmar Bergman, Tøndel, a young Norwegian filmmaker, shows his pedigree with Armand. The filmmaker uses those empty interiors to his advantage (with DP Pål Ulvik Rokseth), playing with silhouettes and focus shifts.
Directing the actors, with simmering tensions and emotional turmoil dealing with such a delicate subject, Tøndel shows a firm grasp of working with seasoned actors. For Reinsve, it's a very hammy role, balancing between a seductress and an innocent woman who is persecuted by her looks in a physically demanding role. And she gives it all.
Armand is a tense movie with warring factions calling for blood. But it also leaves some room for poetic moments of reprieve as Elisabeth dances with the school's custodian with a broom and an intense physical altercation fantasy sequence near the end involving Elisabeth and a group of parents who were there to recap the school year with the administration who just heard about the accusation. The scene where everyone's hands are on Elisabeth, poking, nudging and grabbing her, is reminiscent of the scene from Repulsion. In this, it's as if the accusers are trying to get a piece of the accused with their preconceived notion of Elisabeth, the unfit mother. With the strong performance from Reinsve, Armand is a commendable first feature from a promising young director. Armand receives will have limited theatrical release on Friday 2/7 at IFC Center. Nationwide release will follow.
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