Naboer / Next Door (2005)
Direction and screenplay: Pål Sletaune. Cast: Kristoffer Joner, Cecilie A. Mosli, Julia Schacht, Anna Bache-Wiig, Michael Nyqvist
Naboer / Next Door (Norway) is the story of a man who finds himself in some very strange places — both literally and figuratively — following a nasty confrontation with his former girlfriend. In addition to director-screenwriter Pål Sletaune's solid grip on the disturbing proceedings, and the film's first-rate Psycho-inspired score by Simon Boswell, Naboer boasts several excellent performances especially that of Kristoffer Joner's neighbor of the (original Norwegian) title. In fact, Joner's superb anti-hero, at turns creepy and vulnerable — sometimes both — is by far the best male performance I've seen this year.
Reviewed at the AFI FEST 2005