What do you get when you force a diminutive, neurotic mama's boy and a hulking oaf are forced to live together by the Norwegian government? This is the basic premise of Petter Næss's film, Elling. The film begins with the titular character, played with convincing neuroticism by Per Christian Ellefsen, being released from the mental institution where he has lived during the two years following his mother's death. Despite its morbid sounding set-up, Elling is a surprisingly lighthearted film that stays on the side of heartwarming without ever becoming overly silly or sentimental.
Elling and his roommate, Kjell Bjarne (Sven Nordin), a giant interested primarily in food and sex, have been deemed ready to face the real world. The Norwegian government provides the pair an enviable, fully furnished apartment in Oslo in which to build their new life. They can keep the apartment on the condition that they make an effort to assimilate into normal life. This includes tasks that are seemingly mundane to us but panic inducing to Elling, including answering the phone and going around the corner to shop for groceries.
The film arouses a great empathy in viewers. Though probably not to Elling's extent, everyone has felt fearful in certain settings, even if those fears are irrational. When Elling experiences these moments, Næss uses the camera to put us in his shoes. As the phone in the apartment rings, Elling tries in vain to ignore it, but it overcome by dizziness. The camera rocks almost imperceptibly back and forth, as if we might be overcome with anxiety and fall to the ground with Elling. As Elling learns to conquer his fears, the spinning rooms and rocking camera movements subside.
Though they are pushed to action by the tough love of their social worker, Frank Asli, it is primarily Elling and Kjell Bjarne who comfort and encourage each other to grow and take risks. Kjell Bjarne feels little of Elling's fear towards the outside world. He expresses himself through his physical actions, without over thinking any process ("Kjell Bjarne seems to carry every person he meets strange," Elling notes at one point). Where Kjell Bjarne is a man of few words, Elling is a chatterbox, and though he has trouble conveying it, he seems to possess a deep insight into the personalities of the people surrounding him. Though the two seem to have nothing in common, they form an intimate bond. One touching scene shows the two exchanging Christmas gifts: Kjell Bjarne has painstakingly constructed a model of their apartment out of thousands of matches for Elling, while Elling purchases a lewd watch with a woman on it for Kjell Bjarne ("How did you know I wanted the blonde?!" he exclaims gleefully).
As the film progresses, Elling and Kjell Bjarne develop into more independent individuals while still strengthening their friendship. When Kjell Bjarne finds their neighbor, Reidun, drunk, pregnant, and passed out in the stairwell, the two form a tentative yet tender relationship. Though this initially causes Elling to pout and react with jealousy, it enables him to learn how to deal with being alone, which in turn leads to his discovery of his true calling as a poet. After this empowering experience, Elling boldly addresses Kjell Bjarne and Reidun's insecurities about their blossoming relationship and pushes them together When Reidun expresses doubt about Kjell Bjarne ("He never says anything. He's so weird," she complains to Elling), Elling advocates for him ("I prefer the English expression: 'rare,'" he replies).
On an excursion to explore his new calling, Elling makes his first friend that wasn't forced upon him, an elderly writer named Alfons. Alfons, Elling, Kjell Bjarne and Reidun, each in their own way social outcasts, form an unlikely family, a support system to lean on. By the end of the film, Elling and Kjell Bjarne are not only on their way to becoming full independent members of society, but are actively benefiting the people around them.
Elling never truly delves into the darker side of mental illness, and Elling and Kjell Bjarne's diagnoses aren't explicitly revealed. Kjell Bjarne often bangs his head against the wall and has a hygiene problem, while Elling is incredibly anxious and agoraphobic, but none of these behaviors seem to warrant an extended stay in a mental institution. Do the pair truly have mental illnesses, or are they simply socially maladjusted? Whatever the case, the film never makes cheap jokes about mental illness or uses it as an excuse to dehumanize or stigmatize the characters. Rather, Elling finds its humor in the exploration of two characters with diametrically opposed viewpoints working in tandem to create better lives for themselves.
Elling and his roommate, Kjell Bjarne (Sven Nordin), a giant interested primarily in food and sex, have been deemed ready to face the real world. The Norwegian government provides the pair an enviable, fully furnished apartment in Oslo in which to build their new life. They can keep the apartment on the condition that they make an effort to assimilate into normal life. This includes tasks that are seemingly mundane to us but panic inducing to Elling, including answering the phone and going around the corner to shop for groceries.
The film arouses a great empathy in viewers. Though probably not to Elling's extent, everyone has felt fearful in certain settings, even if those fears are irrational. When Elling experiences these moments, Næss uses the camera to put us in his shoes. As the phone in the apartment rings, Elling tries in vain to ignore it, but it overcome by dizziness. The camera rocks almost imperceptibly back and forth, as if we might be overcome with anxiety and fall to the ground with Elling. As Elling learns to conquer his fears, the spinning rooms and rocking camera movements subside.
Though they are pushed to action by the tough love of their social worker, Frank Asli, it is primarily Elling and Kjell Bjarne who comfort and encourage each other to grow and take risks. Kjell Bjarne feels little of Elling's fear towards the outside world. He expresses himself through his physical actions, without over thinking any process ("Kjell Bjarne seems to carry every person he meets strange," Elling notes at one point). Where Kjell Bjarne is a man of few words, Elling is a chatterbox, and though he has trouble conveying it, he seems to possess a deep insight into the personalities of the people surrounding him. Though the two seem to have nothing in common, they form an intimate bond. One touching scene shows the two exchanging Christmas gifts: Kjell Bjarne has painstakingly constructed a model of their apartment out of thousands of matches for Elling, while Elling purchases a lewd watch with a woman on it for Kjell Bjarne ("How did you know I wanted the blonde?!" he exclaims gleefully).
As the film progresses, Elling and Kjell Bjarne develop into more independent individuals while still strengthening their friendship. When Kjell Bjarne finds their neighbor, Reidun, drunk, pregnant, and passed out in the stairwell, the two form a tentative yet tender relationship. Though this initially causes Elling to pout and react with jealousy, it enables him to learn how to deal with being alone, which in turn leads to his discovery of his true calling as a poet. After this empowering experience, Elling boldly addresses Kjell Bjarne and Reidun's insecurities about their blossoming relationship and pushes them together When Reidun expresses doubt about Kjell Bjarne ("He never says anything. He's so weird," she complains to Elling), Elling advocates for him ("I prefer the English expression: 'rare,'" he replies).
On an excursion to explore his new calling, Elling makes his first friend that wasn't forced upon him, an elderly writer named Alfons. Alfons, Elling, Kjell Bjarne and Reidun, each in their own way social outcasts, form an unlikely family, a support system to lean on. By the end of the film, Elling and Kjell Bjarne are not only on their way to becoming full independent members of society, but are actively benefiting the people around them.
Elling never truly delves into the darker side of mental illness, and Elling and Kjell Bjarne's diagnoses aren't explicitly revealed. Kjell Bjarne often bangs his head against the wall and has a hygiene problem, while Elling is incredibly anxious and agoraphobic, but none of these behaviors seem to warrant an extended stay in a mental institution. Do the pair truly have mental illnesses, or are they simply socially maladjusted? Whatever the case, the film never makes cheap jokes about mental illness or uses it as an excuse to dehumanize or stigmatize the characters. Rather, Elling finds its humor in the exploration of two characters with diametrically opposed viewpoints working in tandem to create better lives for themselves.