‘The Guest’ Review: A Superb Trine Dyrholm Adds Unsentimental Value to a Piercing Family Drama

According to Variety, Danish director Mads Mengel makes an assured debut with "The Guest," a film that starts as a droll comedy of bourgeois social awkwardness before deepening into a tragedy about how a mother's psychological frailty shapes her grown children. Variety's reviewer praises a superb, unsentimental turn from Trine Dyrholm at its center, and singles out David Bauer's cool-toned cinematography, washed in pale Scandinavian summer light. The verdict: a clean-lined, piercing family drama that refuses to be cozy.

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