WFG RATING: A

Dark Star Pictures and the Yellow Affair presents a DESMAR production in association with Lava FIlms and Winsford Productions. Directed by Caroline Ingvarsson. Produced by Naomi Despres, Michele Marshall, and Mariusz Wlodarski. Written by Michele Marshall; based on a novel by Hakan Nesser. Cinematography by Michel Dymek. Edited by Agata Ciernak.

Stars Mirja Turestedt, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Kris Hitchen, Sven Ahlstrom, Radoslaw Dalek, Marta Zmuda Trzebiatowska, Andrzej Konopka, and Ia Langhammer. 

A wife’s turbulent life starts to unravel in this tense Nordic noir film that is a fantastic debut for Caroline Ingvarsson.

Maria is a famous TV show host in Sweden. She is gearing up for a sabbatical amid her professor husband Magnus having an accusation set against him. Their lawyer, Bergman, decides it might be best for the couple to go aboard while things slowly blow over. Maria wishes to go to England but Magnus insists on going to Morocco. The couple stops in Poland on the way to visit an old friend of Magnus’s.

After leaving the friend’s house the following day, Maria finally confronts Magnus about the incident involving his accusation. Maria finally decides to leave and heads towards her dream of the English moors. There, she meets local Mark and for the first time in years, she finds happiness. That is, until Magnus has been found dead in a bunker in Poland. Maria slowly begins to recollect everything that’s happened up until she left. Can she finally overcome what’s happened or is there something else on the horizon that could change her life forever?

This debut feature from Caroline Ingvarsson, based on a novel by Hakan Nesser, is quite intriguing and very tense. The story juxtaposes present day action with flashbacks that begin to unravel and shows the mindset of our lead character Maria. The film showcases an emotional tour de force performance by Mirja Turestedt in the role. 

The film opens with Maria, reeling from the fallout of the accusation of her husband, but as they say in show business, the show must go on. tIt is clear from her talking to a couple after the wife having been found after disappearing, that the fallout has impacted her questioning of the husband. Thomas W. Gabrielsson is great as Magnus, Maria’s domineering husband who seems to be oblivious of her feelings especially when she questions him about the accusations.

Their visit to his friend in Poland seems to be the “breaking point” as Maria seems to be uncomfortable with Magnus’ friend’s girlfriend Barbara, dancing with her and eventually having enough when he starts making inappropriate comments about Barbara and her body. This is when we see Maria finally have had enough and move on by leaving for England. However, as the film progresses, this is where things get very interesting. 

As Maria tries to make the most of her vacation along the English moors, we see flashbacks of Maria’s turbulent marriage to Magnus slowly disintegrate. We see Maria have a conversation with the young woman who accused her husband and her constant confrontations with him. In the meantime, she begins receiving e-mails from a mysterious stalker who only adds fuel to the fire, all leading to a very shocking finale. 

Unmoored is a very tense and emotional character study that showcases Caroline Ingvarsson as a new filmmaker ready to be a name and a tour de force performance by Mirja Turestedt. If you like noir cinema, put this on your list.

Now available on Digital from Dark Star Pictures.