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A Royal Affair(En kongelig affære)

✭ ✭ ✭ ✭   Read critic reviews

Denmark, Sweden, Czech Republic · 2012
Rated R · 2h 17m
Director Nikolaj Arcel
Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Alicia Vikander, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, David Dencik
Genre Drama, History, Romance

A young queen falls in love with her physician, and they start a revolution that changes their nation forever in this gripping historical drama.

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What are critics saying?

60

Total Film by

The stand-out, though, is Mikkel Boe Folsgaard as the King. Teetering on the edge of sanity, he is both detestable and sympathetic.

80

Empire by Anna Smith

A voluptuous slice of historical drama that will satisfy period fans and Mikkelsen admirers equally.

60

The Guardian by Henry Barnes

The chemistry between Mikkelsen and Vikander barely simmers, when it should boil. Nevertheless, it's a fascinating affair of state.

40

Time Out by Keith Uhlich

Intrigue and eroticism abound, all of it watchable, none of it particularly exciting. And the misty widescreen photography lends the proceedings a funereal air of respectability that's like catnip to Oscar voters.

80

Time by Mary Pols

A slam dunk in the genre, satisfying every period piece craving: torrid affair, mad king, bastard child, throngs at the palace gates and a history lesson that will be fresh to many.

50

Village Voice by Nick Schager

Director Arcel handles the material with a stately grace that compensates for the story's predictable trajectory, though humdrum period detail and monotonous pacing too often leave the proceedings feeling only partially aroused.

88

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

A big budget historical drama that carries Denmark's hopes into the Oscar season. It provides still more exposure for the rising Danish star Mads Mikkelsen, the latest male sex symbol of the art house crowd.

83

The A.V. Club by Sam Adams

Newcomer Følsgaard is the wild card, but he manages to make the king both villain and victim, sometimes a vindictive schemer, at others far-eyed and helpless, a puppet for the forces behind him.

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