Very creative, Exit Plan, a drama intense with mystery, turns an insurance investigator about face when he finds out he’s gravely ill. Nicely directed and acted, the film jumps right into the meat of the story working its way to the end with a twist. If you like your mysteries with a bit of puzzling doubt, then this one will have you guessing till the very end. Now on DVD.
Insurance investigator Max Isaksen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and gets the bad news on the day of his 40th birthday. His wife Laerke (Tuva Novotny) is unaware of the problem and at dinner Max plans to tell her that it is terminal. But, dinner seems the wrong place to tell her especially since they are celebrating his birthday and there’s too many distractions.
The next day a policy holder wants to claim on her missing husband who she feels is dead, but without seeing the body Max cannot accept her claim. Director and writer Jonas Alexander Arnby sets up a story intertwining the policy holder’s findings and the conflict within Max that puts him on a quest to get proof of the death and possibly solve his own fear of death.
The acting is good all-around and with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the lead as Max his performance helps keep the quirky plot compelling. Keeping his character offbeat by making his medical quandary part of the story while trying to deal with his client is no easy task with this purposely perplexing script, but he nails the role. Most should recognize Nikolaj as he played Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones from 2011 to the finale in 2019. He also appeared in Oblivion and Gods of Egypt.
Exit Plan is not rated by the MPAA, but contains language, drug use and violence. It plays out in the Danish and English language with English subtitles.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A nicely crafted film that features good performances. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jan Bijvoet, Kate Ashfield
Directed by: Jonas Alexander Arnby
Language: Danish and English with subtitles
Genre: Drama, Mystery
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains language and violence
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min.
Video Release Date: August 4, 2020
Original Theatrical Release Date: June 12, 2020
Language: Danish with English Subtitles
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: 5.1 Surround
Video: Aspect Ratio 2.4:1
Subtitles: Closed Captions
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: Screen Media
Released on: DVD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
