Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is back on the screen with "Suicide Tourist". The mystery thriller is an optical treat.
Away from Westeros, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (49) apparently has a penchant for characters with questionable beard decisions. As in the crime thriller "Shot Caller", the preppy regal killer is also hiding behind a bushy, if not so lively, mustache in his latest film "Suicide Tourist – There is no escape". With the exception of the facial hair of main character Max, the film by Coster-Waldau's Danish compatriot Jonas Alexander Arnby has become an optical force, which, however, cannot hide narrative flaws.
The last resort – that's what it's about
Insurance agent Max (Coster-Waldau) just doesn't have the heart to tell his wife. How do you educate a loved one about being terminally ill and seeing suicide as a way out of the agony ahead? After several unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide, his client Alice (Sonja Richter) 's order seems like a sign of fate. He is supposed to clear up the case of her missing husband, who went to the "Aurora Hotel" in Belgium – a dubious institution that specializes in active euthanasia.
Max soon finds himself as a patient in the "Aurora Hotel" and increasingly questions his perception of reality. In addition, there is an increasing desire to find his death there. There is only one problem: "Once you have signed the contract, your decision cannot be reversed or postponed."
An important topic in thriller packaging
The synopsis may paint the picture of a highly depressing film and to some extent this certainly applies to "Suicide Tourist". However, director Arnby takes a back seat to the important question of the moral and ethical justification for euthanasia in favor of a thriller plot. An interesting mixture, which unfortunately falls completely wrong in one of the main character's suicide attempts and forces inappropriate humor in an otherwise serious film. A blatant wrong decision.
"Suicide Tourist" has three narrative levels that overlap. The relationship with his wife (Tuva Novotny), his research into the missing man and his stay at the "Aurora Hotel". Two reference films immediately come to mind when setting the mysterious furnishings: Gore Verbinski's "A Cure For Wellness" with Dane DeHaan and to a certain extent also Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" with Leonardo DiCaprio. "Suicide Tourist", however, cannot compete with the last film, especially narratively.
Very well, but visually. What Arnby conjures up on the screen in collaboration with his cameraman Niels Thastum ("Borg / McEnroe"), the feelings they awaken in the viewer with their pictures – that's great cinema. Such ambitions would also have been hoped for in the plot. But it takes far too long to get going and in the finale again seems hasty. And so, at the latest when the credits are drawn, you won't get rid of the feeling that a lot of potential has been wasted here.
Conclusion:
The visual sophistication of "Suicide Tourist – There is no escape" is unbalanced with the quality of the content. Packing the controversial topic of euthanasia into a mystery thriller is an interesting idea, which, however, does not seem to have been thought through in the film by Jonas Alexander Arnby. However, the film is still worth seeing – in addition to the look, also because of the main actor Coster-Waldau. Aside from his "Game of Thrones" career, he once again proves to be a multifaceted actor.