Elling (2001)

As Good As It Gets

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Increase in wealth, individualism and related alienation increases the number of those financially capable of coping without socialisation - provided this situation is maintained. But in the event of change, they are unprepared to continue on their own. In rich countries like Norway, there are special services for those people, and the film in question deals with 2 of them: Elling and Kjell Bjarne, who - after obtaining an apartment in Oslo and "guarded" by a social worker - they must prove they can get out into the real world and lead "normal" lives. Beginning is tough, creating numerous comic and crazy situations, but with the help of other people with the same lonely background, they find things and values in common and all their lives change radically. The film is warmhearted, accentuating basic human values and arguing that every person has his/her place under the sun - as "normality" is a wide and differently perceived concept. The cast is also great, both the protagonists and supporting actors, leading with Per Christian Ellefsen as Elling.The film got an Academy Award nomination, but it is still not widely known. Perhaps the title is uninviting for wider distribution and recognition.

Elling is a very odd man. He lived the first 40 years of his life with his mother--never leaving his home. When she died, he was discovered living in this hovel and was places in a psychiatric institution. Now, over two years later, the hospital is discharging him and he's to share an apartment with his friend Kjell. The problem is Elling IS mentally disturbed--with a lot of assorted symptoms of various anxiety disorders--plus he's just plain weird. As for Kjell, he, too, comes from the hospital and both are VERY awkward when it comes to fitting in to the community. What will happen with these two strange men? Will they make it or will they need to return to the hospital? I noticed that IMDb listed this film as a comedy. I really don't think it is a funny film, nor does it try to be--but it IS quirky. Instead, I see the film as a nice slice of life. It does NOT make fun of the characters but has a nice affection for them. Overall, an engaging and sweet little Norwegian film.

"Elling" is a film with the potential to resonate in a variety of audiences, with people from all over the world, from various cultural, social, and economic backgrounds. It deals with universal issues that are not restricted to Oslo, Norway, or anywhere else in the world for that matter. Director Peter Næss does an excellent job of portraying common issues of anxiety, shyness, and confusion in social situations in his characters Elling and Kjell Bjarne. Elling and Kjell Bjarne can teach us a thing or two about the way we think about society and the world today, and maybe even something about ourselves.It's important to note that while both main characters are socially inexperienced, neither of them has a documented disability of any kind. All we know is that they lived extremely sheltered lives, and now that they are adults they must learn to fend for themselves as everybody else does. They're normal people, just like everyone else, they've just been sheltered and are therefore nervous about stepping out into the world outside. Everybody gets nervous in new situations. Most people don't experience it to the same extent as Elling and Kjell Bjarne, but it's something most people can relate to on some level.Society today often looks down on people who are unable to cope with certain social situations or who can't live on their own, unless they have some sort of disability. It seems that we tend to think that they are less deserving than so-called "normal" people. The film does a good job of portraying them as portraying them as "normal" people with a variety of social anxiety issues due to their sheltered lives. We are meant sympathize and relate to the characters as opposed to look down on them. The film seems to be a realistic portrayal of the welfare system in Norway, and might be very different to what an international audience is accustomed to.After living in an institution for a few years, Elling and Kjell Bjarne are given an apartment and a stipend, funded by the Norwegian government, in order to assimilate into the world outside the institution. They're trying to prove that Elling and Kjell Bjarne can live on their own and become fully functioning members of society. Their social worker, Frank Asli, can be rather harsh and demanding, but he succeeds in helping Elling and Kjell Bjarne adapt to the world outside their institution, so one could say that his methods are effective. In Norway's welfare system, everybody is given a chance to live the fullest life possible, and programs are often funded by the state in order to provide equal opportunities.It's important to note that the institution placed Elling and Kjell Bjarne in an apartment together, so that they can help each other with their issues. They each have their own strengths and can help each other with different things. At first, Kjell Bjarne is more comfortable going out in public, so he does the shopping and eventually gets Elling to accompany him to the café for pork and gravy. Elling struggles with going out in public until he finds something that he can do for himself, when he decides to go to a "poetry meeting". He wants to prove to Kjell Bjarne that he can do things on his own too. Elling wants to be the more responsible, sophisticated one. They set examples for each other to follow, and each one wants to be able to do what the other one can, so they essentially end up teaching and learning together about their new world in Oslo."Elling" is a film that almost everyone can relate to. Almost everybody gets nervous in certain situations, whether it's public speaking, flying, going on a ship, or just going to the grocery store. Because Elling and Kjell Bjarne have no documented ability, it's easier for the audience to relate to the characters and to see a little bit of the characters in themselves. It's easy for the audience to laugh along with the characters as they adventure in their new world. It can also provoke thoughts about the way that society deals with people like Elling and Kjell Bjarne, how people view them on the street, and how the government treats them. In the film, they receive support from the government, and reactions to the welfare system in Norway can vary depending on where a viewer is from. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the film, however, is the importance of working together as a team. Elling and Kjell Bjarne are in this situation together, and they eventually are able to overcome their differences to work together and begin to find their place in the world.

Very reminiscent in tone of the American Indie "Lars and the Real Girl", "Elling" likewise doesn't play the lunacy of its main character for laughs or even for drama so much but rather goes for uplift." The agoraphobic title character as played by Per Christian Ellefsen comes off very much like American actor Tony Randall playing Felix Unger if Felix was afraid to leave the Manhattan apartment he desperately tried to keep neat. Kjell Bjarne (Sven Nordin) is Elling's state-mandated flat-mate although it is never clear as to why he winds up institutionalized. Most of the movie follows the pair's slowly unfolding adaptation to life in the outside world – although Elling only makes limited and therefore seemingly realistic process. Watching this socialization unfold does provide some of the emotional uplift the film aims for; however, the climax which involves a 9-month pregnant upstairs neighbor clearly puts the "foreign" in foreign film and one wonders if it played as other than genuinely creepy in its native Norway. Eventually, Robin Williams will be cast as the lead in the American adaptation (as he was in the equally Norwegian "Insomnia"), John Goodman will play the sidekick and the studio will hire nine writers to punch up the script with more jokes and rewrite the ending. In short, wait for that version.