Los Angeles, CA – January 9, 2019 – Oscar-winning and Emmy-nominated director, Susanne Bier, has become the talk-of-Hollywood recently with Netflix’s release of Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock last month.
World-renowned, the brilliant Danish filmmaker is credited for In A Better World, After The Wedding, and popular television series, The Night Manager, starring Tom Hiddleston. As a scarce gem in Hollywood’s male-dominated director-world, Bier defies the film world’s gender-gap with her ability to present high-concept dark and chilling narratives. Her fierce and suspenseful direction poses how real-world conflicts and shocking moral dilemmas result in life-of-death choices, forcing viewers to confront their personal horrors. “Touted as a contender to be the first woman to direct a Bond film, Bier has carved a name for herself as a multifaceted director in an industry that resolutely remains a man’s world,” gleamed Campaign.
Photo: from Polygon, Susanne Bier on the set of ‘Bird Box’. Merrick Morton/Netflix.
With the screenplay written by Eric Heisserer (Arrival), Bird Box is a five-year-long survival-thriller following heavily pregnant Malorie (Sandra Bullock), who barricades herself in a house in order to escape a mysterious entity that, once seen, drives people to suicide. Searching for hope and a new beginning, Malorie and two children embark on a dangerous river journey, striving to reach safety. To make it, they’ll have to cover their eyes from the evil that chases them – and complete the trip blindfolded.
“Bier does an impressive job in offering the apocalypse as a deeply traumatic, claustrophobic and utterly hopeless experience, electing to present a world in which survivors are far more likely to meet a gruesome end at each other’s hands than have to worry about what awaits them outside,” wrote Empire Online.
Showcasing heart-wrenching, yet strong familial unit themes, Bird Box similarly overlaps with Bier’s A 2nd Chance (aka En chance til), as both films are darkened with unnerving twists and turns that grasp the audience’s attention, as shocking and almost unwatchable material keeps them on edge. Similarly, both Bird Box and A 2nd Chance delve deep into human nature’s battle against tragedy, and the extraordinary lengths parents will go to save innocent children.
As an elevated and gritty Nordic noir, A 2nd Chance stars Emmy-nominated Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) as Detective Andreas, who gives a raw, riveting performance that exposes the gray-areas of the adult moral complex and prevails the imminent implications of individual choices. Premiering at TIFF, A 2nd Chance illustrates the gruesome depiction of child neglect within a bone-chilling atmosphere, capturing how easy humans can lose grasp on justice when life is hanging by a thread.
Written by Ander Thomas Jensen (All You Need is Love, In A Better World), A 2nd Chance parallel two families – happily married and father, Detective Andreas, and the junkie-couple (Nikolai Lie Kaas and Lykke May) and their neglected baby boy – who is covered in his own excrement and surrounded by the fumes from heated spoons. But when tragedy strikes with the sudden death of Andreas’ son, his grief and heartache unravel into moral and ethical disarray. When confronted with the adult decision between right and wrong, Andreas’ morals begin to blur, affecting his choices and their imminent implications. Is the right decision to save the baby boy from his drug-addict parents? Or, is baby snatching the wrong decision?
“Bier’s A 2ND Chance focuses on the family issues and how as humans we behave during unbearable situations… What we assume is the best option or the best approach to handle with that might be the one with the worst consequences,” wrote DecayMag.
As compelling and high-concept plots, Bird Box and A 2ND Chance spark imaginations as shocking dilemmas arise, concluding in a movie of questions that are unanswered and left open-ended. In A 2ND Chance, is right for Detective Andreas to snatch and save the neglected child? When others come knocking, Bird Box questions if the right thing to do is to open the door to suffering? Or, will the characters be deceived and make the wrong choice, allowing those infected by the mysterious entity to enter their only place of safety?
Bier’s direction invokes a strong, empowering female voice with open eyes to reflect our dark world. Defying the film gender gap with a fresh and unique female vision, Bier’s Bird Box and A 2ND Chance are rooted within the foundations of love and parenthood, ultimately asking the universal question: How far are you willing to go to save innocent children?
If you enjoyed Bird Box, watch A 2ND CHANCE on Amazon today: https://amzn.to/2A4NlqH.
The gripping, baby snatching drama is anchored with fantastic performances from Coster-Waldau (Oblivion, Mama) and by award-winning Swedish actress, Maria Bonnevie (I Am Dina), debuting actress, Lykke May, Ulrich Thomsen (The Blacklist), Roland Moller (Atomic Blonde), Nikolai Lie Kaas (Angels & Demons) and Peter Harber (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).
A 2nd CHANCE (2018, 102 min.) Directed by Susanne Bier. Editor: Pernille Bech Christensen. Cinematographer: Michael Snyman. Original Music: Johan Söderqvist. Danish with English subtitles. Zentropa, Zentropa International Sweden, FilmFyn, Film I Vast. TriCoast Worldwide, Rock Salt Releasing.
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Zentropa, Zentropa International Sweden, FilmFyn and Film I Vast.
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