Lisa Aschan's Thank You, I'm Sorry (aka, Tack och förlåt), written by Marie Østerbye, opens with Sara (Sanna Sundqvist) looking in the mirror and smiling. What a radiant smile Sundqvist has! It exudes warmth and innocence and makes her look like a child. Even I started smiling along with her. Sundqvist has an open face. Her internal emotions clearly bubble up to the surface. You are always able to read her thoughts, which is why when she angrily tells her sister, Linda (Charlotta Björck), to leave her house, you notice that a part of her regrets making this bitter decision. During the opening scene of the film, Sara discovers that her husband, Daniél (Mattias Ramos), is dead. For the remaining runtime, Sara wears a distressed, exhausted expression. The vertical line on her forehead makes her face look like a cracked mirror.
What's also remarkable about Sundqvist's acting is how she mixes shock with her already distressed expression to give rise to an amusing reaction, which is something you discover during that scene where Linda talks about oral sex. In Björck's hands, Linda becomes an adorable teddy bear. It feels as if a small pinch would shatter her whole existence. Hence, it sounds natural when Sara talks about Linda's habit of avoiding confrontation. This gentle character likes to handle things in a gentle manner. Her boyfriend, a man-child named Jasse (Peshang Rad), takes advantage of Linda's kindness. He emotionally blackmails her to stay with him. When Linda leaves her house to go to her sister's place, Jasse pretends to talk to someone on the phone and says he wants to spend quality time with his girlfriend, but she's not fully committed.
Both Sara and Linda turn out to be unlucky in terms of romance. The movie opens with Daniél telling Sara that they no longer seem to have feelings for each other. And given that both the sisters don't appear to have any friends, it only makes sense that they should take care of each other. Sara, however, takes time to warm up to her sister. There is friction between them because Linda chose to stay with her father after their parents separated. Sara hates her father and thinks Linda abandoned her and her mother by giving priority to their dad. Thank You, I'm Sorry, then, is about how these sisters remove the distance between them. Like a rom-com couple, they bicker, share intimate moments, and seem to be made for each other. It's fitting that the movie ends with a shot of the sisters standing close together with a baby at the center.
Aschan shoots the scenes with a camera that quietly observes the events without much movement. Sometimes, the director takes you out of the film through some conspicuous choices. When Sara, at a group meeting, questions why she should share her tragedy with the other people and a man talks about his sad experience, leading to a hug between Sara and this man, the camera cuts to a wide shot, which heavily underlines the emotional impact of this moment. We took part in the characters' sentiment as long as we were in the closeup. But with the wide shot, we are forced to examine our reaction, which disconnects us from the ongoing event. Thank You, I'm Sorry indicates that death is unpredictable (while entering the bedroom, Sara wasn't expecting to find the lifeless body of her husband). This uncertainty is also present in the editing, as is evident in the scene where the camera excitedly tracks Eliot (Amaël Blomgren Alcaide) and Linda racing each other and then suddenly cuts to Sara's appointment at the hospital. It feels as if a vivacious spirit has unexpectedly flatlined.
Thank You, I'm Sorry is a charming, low-key delight. Sundqvist and Björck share a terrific chemistry, elevating the drama as well as the comedy. The movie begins with a smile and ends with a smile. No wonder it also leaves you with a smile.
Final Score- [8/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
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Publisher at Midgard Times