"Inheritance" is extremely dour and depressing, which is clearly the sort of atmosphere the filmmakers were going for. Unfortunately, it doesn't make for a very watchable film.
In fact, so much of this Danish-Swedish import is so uninteresting that it quickly becomes a chore to sit through. And that's too bad, because the film has a lot to say about professional-vs.-personal life struggles.
"Inheritance" comes off as Shakespeare- or Ibsen-light, lacking the drama that such tragedies are supposed to have.
It doesn't help that the film features a wishy-washy protagonist in Christoffer (Ulrich Thomsen), a Dane whose life changes dramatically after his father's suicide. He comes home to find his mother (Ghita Norby) pushing him to take his father's place as the CEO of a steel plant. However, Christoffer's wife, Maria (Lisa Werlinder), begs him not to take the job; she wants to return to Stockholm.
But being the dutiful son, Christoffer bows to his mother's will and takes charge of the plant, where his first task is firing or laying off several longtime employees — including his brother-in-law (Lars Brygmann), whom he considers to be disloyal to the family and the business.
It quickly becomes clear that Christoffer may be cut out for this line of work after all — though it's obviously putting a huge strain on his marriage, and Maria doesn't like the changes in her husband.
The material is done in such a bleak and bitter way that it quickly becomes wearisome, and few if any of these characters are compelling enough to watch for nearly two hours.
What's surprising is that Thomsen has given some strong performances in the past (particularly in "Celebration" and "Mostly Martha"). But here he barely registers, even as his character's frustrations begin to mount.
"Inheritance" is not rated but would probably receive an R for simulated sex and other sexual contact, scattered use of strong profanity and crude sexual slang terms, violence (a sexual assault, as well as a drunken temper tantrum), brief female nudity. Running time: 107 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com