Roger Burke Terribly Happy - a purposely reflexive and ironic title - begins by drawing the viewer into the world of Robert (Jacob Cedergren), the young constable who has been transferred to a tiny town in a remote part of Denmark. He is guilty of ... something. "So - you snapped, eh!" remarks his superior officer. Hence Robert's transfer is implicitly a punishment of sorts....The town - situated on a bleak, boggy, barren plain - is peopled with a community who quickly show Robert he must adjust to their way of handling troublesome situations: help for a local domestic violence plight of a woman, Ingelise (Lene Christensen), in fear of her husband, Jorgen (Kim Bodnia) and who doubles as the town bully; Robert slaps a young shoplifter to the ground at the urging of the shopkeeper, instead of charging the young offender; he is forced to accept the cat left behind by the previous constable who apparently disappeared - as did the owner of the bicycle shop where Robert goes to have his flat tire repaired. Moreover, washed clothes must hung out only in a certain way.Such confusion just gets worse when the apparently beaten wife seems to want an affair with Robert. He tries to resist, but an unaccountable drive spurs him on to an illicit relationship. Add to that the little girl dressed in red who, every evening, walks her dolls in a squeaky pram up and down the main street. And while the customers at the local bar seem to regard him with reserve, even disdain, a local trio of card players urge Robert to join in to their almost perpetual card playing.Throughout all of this, Robert also attempts to solve the mystery of those who disappear into the local bogs ... or somewhere. A murder, although accidental - or was it? - occurs; and finally Robert tries to protect Jorgen, who is absolutely innocent of the crime, from community retribution.... So, what sort of a community would resort to such a litany of oddball actions? Where, exactly, is this troubling town anyway? And, why does Robert comply - so readily, it seems?The bizarrely confused nature of Robert's situation strongly implies more than simply a lone copper up against a bunch of feral farmers. Exactly what that is, I leave up to each viewer to decide. For inspiration, I'd suggest thinking of Psycho (1960), Spellbound (1945), particularly Lost Highway (1997), Bug (2006) and Shutter Island (2010), all of which center upon a character in the grip of a psychological nightmare.The acting is adequate, as is the production. Kim Bodnia is always effective in creepy roles - or any role, in fact. The structure and direction are suitable for the development of occasional suspense and muted terror. Only the ending lacks real punch, but does provide adequate resolution for me.While I'm not terribly happy about this outing, I still recommend it for those who like, as I do, Danish drama. Give it six out of ten.September 6, 2014

museumofdave Things are seldom what they seem; when a cop has some problems on a city beat, he is put into what might seem to be a less stressful environment, a little place in the middle of nowhere with little more than some largely barren land and a little town where the big event seems to be a young girl in red who wheels her baby carriage around after hours; a local wife appears to have beaten by her husband, and seeks solace from the new cop; the locals watch warily to see what happens. And the viewer is sucked into a dark swamp of a plot which offers a few out-of-your-seat surprises and plenty of plot twists. Terribly Happy is a dark, unconventional thriller peopled with folks who have some very odd agendas, and I had a riveting good time with it

filmalamosa This film gets a 10 for uniqueness and the ending.A cop who had a nervous breakdown is posted to a small town (in Denmark) a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business and they have their own justice system--that extends further than you would imagine.A wife beater and his wife are dealt with effectively.A film noir with a satisfying end although I hate to think what happened with the bicycle shop owner.Good entertainment for adults...Recommend it highly.

dave-sturm Few posters here have referenced American crime novelist Jim Thompson, but this is his turf, unquestionably. Small town. Everyone knows everyone. Secrets are buried by the residents. Town has a bad person. The local police force (one man, in this case) get pulled in by the town's sinister past. A murder is covered up. But then there's another, related, murder. Suspicion grows exponentially."Terribly Happy" begins with the punishment posting of a Copenhagen cop to a distant village because of something bad he has done (we learn the details later). This village is in the nastiest possible place, Jutland, a part of Denmark that looks like Kansas, but without the corn and loaded with swampy bogs. Really depressing. The cop, Robert (Jakob Cedergren), tries his best to bring professional law enforcement to the town, but is almost immediately in trouble over his head.This is a town that doesn't cotton to strangers. It doesn't help when the town nympho, an abused wife who is married to the town bully, starts coming on to him. This is the kind of town where if someone talks to someone in public, everyone knows immediately. These are not friendly people and they love to gossip."Terribly Happy" works as a primo noir because it is utterly plausible, right down to the bitterly ironic ending. This is an outstanding crime drama.