The original title of Hallvar Witzø's The Wrong Track is På villspor, which, according to Google, is a Norwegian phrase that translates to "astray" in English. It describes someone or something lost, missing, or away from the correct path. Well, this accurately defines Ada Eide's Emilie, who we first see at a café struggling to remember a customer's order. Her confusion and clumsiness suggest that she doesn't really like her current job, and this thought is strengthened by the title that appears on the screen as an affirmation. A single mother, Emilie shares the custody of her daughter, Lilli (Saga Meisfjordskar), with Joachim (Christian Rubeck), her ex-husband. The latter, however, wants full custody of his daughter simply because he thinks Emilie is a wreck. She doesn't have a job (she leaves that café gig at the beginning of the film). After a night of partying, outdoor peeing, and sex, she comes to meet her daughter without taking a shower. And like her unstable life, her bathroom, too, proves itself unreliable (there is a problem with the toilet's flushing system). Emilie's friends refer to her as a quitter, while her brother, Gjermund (Trond Fausa), is tired of her loser behavior.
Emilie doesn't have a goal or discipline in her life. After a toilet mishap, she comes to live with Gjermund, whose wife, Silje (Marie Blokhus), is clearly not excited by the arrival of this new guest. When Gjermund asks Emilie if she has a plan, she merely tells him that, for now, she will live in his house. Her brother isn't satisfied with the answer. Hence, he offers Emilie two options: She can either join him in doing the Birken (a 54 km skiing race) or go to their mother's house. Not everybody likes the idea of living with their parents, especially as an adult. Emilie is one of those people, which is why she joins Gjermund for the skiing sessions. A 54 km ski marathon is serious business, but The Wrong Track - a remake of Off Track/Ur spår - maintains a light, casual tone even when things threaten to heat up. This heat is mainly generated by the conflicts between Silje and Gjermund, who are trying hard to become parents. The argument that they start after receiving the bad news on the phone becomes intense due to Gjermund's commitment to the marathon. She accuses him of being an emotionless robot; he asserts that they cannot stop living their lives because of such failures. Witzø, along with writers Lars Gudmestad and Vilde Klohs, makes sure no one sticks out as a villain. We understand where both sides are coming from. Nevertheless, the filmmakers omit some crucial details about their characters.
For starters, does Silje have a job? Gjermund points out that she always screams, "Baby, baby," which leads you to wonder if she does anything professionally. What about Gjermund? He surely cannot afford a house like that by just skiing, right? Household matters are inextricable from financial discussions, especially when it comes to babies, as raising them places extreme stress on physical, mental, and monetary aspects. The Wrong Track takes the subject of spondulicks for granted. Also, why don't Silje and Gjermund consider adoption? The filmmakers attempt to go to an uncomfortable area by introducing Gjermund to Madeleine (Idun Daae Alstad), an influencer, but they clumsily retrace their steps. I wish they hadn't dismissed Madeleine with that shot of her derrière.
One senses that The Wrong Track could have been better. Maybe the fault lies in the source material? I have not seen Off Track; however, if you narrowly judge this film and its intentions, you can crown Witzø as a winner. The almost laid-back atmosphere, charming faces, and pleasant humor render The Wrong Track the right food for comfort. Witzø does win you over with his toned-down approach to comedy-drama, which is why you are moved by a scene like the one where some naked boys give Emilie a bag and fill it with beer bottles. The director only deviates from his style when he veers into treacle during the final "and they lived happily ever after" sequence, which feels dissonant against the carefully established tone that persists throughout the film's 1 hour and 30 minutes. It's incongruous - a weird miscalculation. It's amusing how The Wrong Track ends up on the wrong track just before bidding us farewell. At least, you can declare that the movie does justice to its title.
Final Score- [5.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times