The Hunt Review

It's so easy to take something as simple as the power of words for granted. On one end of the spectrum, certain combinations of words can bring warmth to an entire existence and enrich a soul, especially the loving thoughts of a child. What seems impossible to comprehend is that one untruthful set of words, a single lie derived from a mind too young and innocent to understand their ramifications, could lead to the devastating downfall of a man.

The Hunt tells the story of Lucas, a Kindergarten teacher living a lonely life with his beloved dog, hoping to gain more time with his son Marcus whom he sees far too little due to his divorce. Things begin to look up for Lucas after his wish for custody of Marcus is granted and he enters into a romantic relationship with a young woman he works with, but in an instant his world is torn apart because of one bewildering, graphic lie told by the young daughter of his best friend. The fact that such a thing would exist in the mind of such a small child leads those who heard it to believe in it, and everything Lucas loved and lived for is taken away from him.

In the role of Lucas, Mads Mikkelsen is so brilliant it actually made me feel a little sick to my stomach a few times. I would imagine this is quite the compliment to an actor as long as it is meant in the right context, a performance so riveting, so painful that it elicited a literal churn of my insides. The Hunt is beautifully written and directed, a nuanced masterpiece of dramatic filmmaking that forced me to sit through the duration of the entire credits before I even considered pressing the stop button on the remote. It's haunting, watching the will to live be sucked out of a human being due to something they are accused of that never happened.

While The Hunt is a work of fiction, it felt like anything but because the scenario presented is far too real. When a person is charged with a crime and the court of public opinion comes to the conclusion that guilt is the only plausible possibility, even when a name is technically cleared the stigma remains. Behind the smiles that surround Lucas are the painful reminders that an entire community will always look at him in a different light, as it is impossible to completely undo such a wrong that was done.


5/5