I’d happily watch Mads Mikkelsen sit in silence for an hour and a half. Whether he’s playing a weepy-eyed Bond villain, an alcoholic teacher, or the bloke who designed the Death Star, the Danish actor imbues all of his performances with a sort of brooding intensity that often transcends the need for any form of dialogue. That’s exactly why he’s the perfect casting for Arctic, an icy survival drama in which his deserted protagonist has no one to speak to, aside from himself, a barely conscious helicopter co-pilot and a very angry polar bear.
Directed by Joe Penna, a former YouTuber making his feature debut, Arctic was initially screened at Cannes in 2018, but later went under the radar thanks to a limited theatrical release. Those who seek it out, though, will be treated to Mikkelsen’s finest performance yet. He’s excellent in The Hunt and Another Round, but here is a role that allows him to reach new emotional depths, expressing loneliness, fear, hope and despair with the most subtle of facial movements – and then effortlessly upping the ante when his quest for survival takes a more extreme turn. He is in fact so natural and convincing, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was actually stranded in this frozen-over hell.
