They say a good compromise is an agreement where neither side is completely satisfied. However, sometimes that outcome is preferable to a deal with the devil in which the unseen consequences tragically override any of the benefits. It’s a hard lesson learned in “Before The Frost,” an efficiently and professionally assembled period drama, that remains passably compelling, even as it marches through its predictable story beats.
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Jens (Jesper Christensen) is a proud farmer in 19th century Denmark, who is doing his best to retain his dignity during troubled times. His wife has passed away leaving him to raise his daughter Signe (Clara Rosager), and nephews Peder (Elliott Crosset Hove) and Mads (Bertil De Lorenzi) on his own. Recent developments have seen the family demoted within the hierarchy of the town church’s Sunday service seating arrangement, while their harvest has been half-ruined leaving them with the very real possibility of starving by the middle of winter.
Even with these stings to his pride, and facing increasing hardship, Jens remains resolute in surviving on his own terms. The farmer initially rebuffs an offer from Gustav (Magnus Krepper), a widowed and wealthy Swedish landowner, to buy his marshland. Upon further reflection, Jens decides to make Gustav a counter-offer, one that includes not only all his land, but his daughter Signe’s hand in marriage. The deal is done, but in doing so, Jens breaks a handshake agreement he’d previously made with a poorer neighbor, one that was more modest, but would’ve seen Signe marry her true love, Ole (Oscar Dyekjær Giese). But grasping for the higher ring, which would leave the future of himself, daughter, and nephews never in doubt, Jens pushes ahead, but the fallout is dire.
There is never a moment in “Before The Frost” that isn’t plainly telegraphed in the film itself, or reminiscent from literature or movies that have tackled similar tales of lives bargained for the promise of prosperity. Where this material in particular, co-written by director Michael Noer (“Papillon,” “R”) and screenwriter Jesper Fink, has the potential to stand apart is in its exploration of how religious and patriarchal forces shaped the society of small communities. Unfortunately, that opportunity is missed here. The scope of the story is too small, doing justice to the mechanical dramatics of the tale, but leaving behind the thematic texture that would elevate this otherwise fairly routine narrative. There are subtle acknowledgments to the greater structures bearing down on Jens, but Noer doesn’t seem interested in saying anything about them, beyond recognizing their existence.
Luckily, the filmmaker’s storytelling talents are crisp and steady, and he’s aided by sturdy performances. Notably, Rosager has a role that’s not especially showy on paper, but is perhaps trickier to manage, navigating the internal emotions of a young woman whose fate is largely outside her power, and must come to accept the path her life will take. It’s subtle work, but effective, even if some of the character’s transformation in the film’s final third strains credulity. Christensen is also effective as Jens, threading the space between desperate and detestable with ease, providing space for both the audience to both sympathize and be repulsed by his actions.
If only the film itself had occupied territory as complex as the cast themselves staked out. An undeniably handsome production — the period setting feels lived in thanks to production design by Søren Schwartzberg and cinematography by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen — “Before The Frost” nonetheless never fully thaws, maintaining a chilled facade that keeps its emotional impact from being fully harvested. [C]
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