The Simple-Minded Murderer

1930s Sweden is still a largely heirarchical society and when his mother dies, "Sven" (Stellan Skarsgård) is left to fend for himself. He's a man in his late teens, with learning difficulties, and is reduced to working for the odious farm/factory proprietor "Höglund" (Hans Alfredson) and sleeping in the barn with the beasts. Whilst he isn't treated brutally by his boss, he is neglected and soon realises that on that front, he is no different from many in his community who are controlled by this man. For a while he has been friends with the wheelchair-bound "Anna" (Maria Johansson) and it is her father (Per Myrberg) who offers the young man an opportunity to quit his dung-scented squalor and come and live with them. He's delighted but "Höglund" much less so, and against a battle of attrition between them the remainder of this drama quite tightly plays out as "Sven" tries to assert his own independence. Skarsgård brings a convincingly naive vulnerability and decency to his characterisation here and the rustic surroundings and a gentle amount of light-heartedness work well too as we observe just how effective a little touch of kindnes can be in the face of oppression. It's a love story, to an extent: of people, of freedom, of a red motor bike - and he presents someone here who's likeable without inducing undue pity. Auteur Alfredson is also on good form depicting a man whom he hopefully didn't base on himself. "Höglund" is one of those outwardly avuncular figures to the pillars of his town, but in private is a bit of a brute, a bully, and he certainly treats women as commodities rather than people. The production design delivers something of the truly basic existence of some of the citizenry; it's farmyard settings also allow for a little humour to creep in and there is something of the changing eras to the thrust of the screenplay, too.