Leea Klemola and Rea Mauranen excel in Finnish comedy, which is plagued by a weak script.
Pictured is Emma Kilpimaa, who plays Siiri’s daughter, and Leea Klemola, who plays Johanna’s mother. MAIJU POHJANHEIMO / TEKELE PRODUCTIONS
Bad women
Finland, 2022
Directed by Niklas Lindgren
IL-Rating: ⭐⭐
A great actor can do wonders with even a weak script. That’s the idea that comes to mind first Bad women from the movie.
The idea behind the domestic comedy, which arrived at cinemas at the end of February, already feels quite stale in the 2020s. Locals are shocked when a group of Russian prostitutes have to stay for a while in the parish house of a small village in Lapland due to their car problems.
At the same time, a grandiose wedding is being held at the parish house, where nothing should go wrong. Johanna (fantastic Leea Klemola) and her daughter Siiri (Emma Kilpimaa).
Klemola and the mighty actor of the place Rea Maurasen a strong tension has been charged between them, under which both Klemola, 56 and Mauranen, 72, are allowed to treat each other deliciously. The feud between the duo is definitely the best part of the film, so skillfully they play their part. The film would have been improved already by paying more attention and time to the tensions between the two.
Known as a screenwriter and director, Klemola should already be declared a national treasure, so she is doing a great job once again.
In addition to Mauranen, Klemola and Kilpimaa, the film’s excellent actress also features, among other things: Anna Ackerman, Sinikka Mokkila, Anna-Leena Sipilä mixed Eeva Semerdjiev.
However, one completely incomprehensible mistake has been made in the role. Has been hired Jussi Vatanen. Of course, Vatanen is a good actor in his own right, and there is nothing wrong with his performance in the role. The problem is that Vatanen has become so familiar with the heroes of the Arctic Circle film trilogy in Lapland. When he again plays a very similar character in a comedy set in Lapland, it’s hard to get the idea out of watching another Heroes of the Arctic Circle film here, albeit in a slightly darker tone.
The balance and other male characters in the film have also not been given the same edge and life as many of the female characters in the film. The men are really just snuggling somewhere on the outskirts of the story, are weak, a little stupid or otherwise but unattainable and of course some of them crave Russian women who have popped into the village.
The story of the film is roughly divided into two parts that progress simultaneously. One organizes weddings and the other hides Russian women. Sometimes the episodes intertwine, causing humorous situations, but sometimes it feels like watching two different movies.
Bad women you can barely stay on the surface all the way to the end meters, but then everything falls apart. The tensions charged throughout the film don’t get released properly, but the ending of the film feels flat and dull.
The last 10 minutes of the movie should definitely have been rewritten more fun and witty.
Bad Women premiered on February 25, 2022.