Utøya: July 22 (2018)

Director: Erik Poppe

Stars: Andrea Berntzen, Aleksander Holmen, Solveig Koløen Birkeland
Runtime: 93 minutes

Synopsis: A teenage girl struggles to survive and to find her younger sister during the July 2011 terrorist mass murder at a political summer camp on the Norwegian island of Utøya.

Performances: 9/10
Screenplay: 6/10
Cinematography: 10/10

Verdict: Do you remember when Paul Greengrass, a couple of years go, made a film about the horrible terrorist attack that shocked Norway and the world, but in English? No? Well, I don't blame you, because the film was terribly forgettable and certainly didn't do justice to both the survivors and casualties of the massacre.

That same year, another film depicting these events came out, and yet didn't nearly get the same exposure as it's American twin. In fact, it barely got any buzz at all, which is something I can't wrap my head around considering the fact that it's by far the superior retelling of that particular story.

The entirety of "Utøya: July 22" is shot in one take in order to throw the audience into the small Norwegian island in which a group of teenagers found themselves devastatingly running and hiding for their lives after a gunman opens fire on them back in 2011. The camera work is phenomenal, and truly captures the event from a passive viewer's perspective, rendering the atmosphere one that is filled with tension. The emotional part, on the other hand, was taken care of by Andrea Berntzen's incredible performance. You could really see the fear, trauma, and panic in her acting, which wasn't helped by cuts to allow her to recharge. She had to film the entire film in one single take and managed to do it tremendously.

The only criticism I have with the movie is the writing, which on more than one occasion sadly didn't feel as organic or genuine as the rest of the movie. This is something that bothered me most in the opening 15 minutes and closing 5 minutes, but it's by no means an issue that ruined the experience me. I strongly believe that this film deserves much more recognition than it currently has, especially considering the success of "1917" last year, which follows a very similar formula.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10