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Review

Twenty-five-year-old David is the cooler head in his Oslo gym workplace, the go-to guy for his thuggish boss Jarle, frequently saving Jarle’s reckless and obtuse son Lars from the consequences of his own idiocy. David prefers to sleep in his family’s apartment building basement; he’s out of synch with his mom and caring and attentive to his brother Kjetil, who has Downes Syndrome. He cares about his father more than he can express, sharing wordless, tender moments with him as he lies in his bed dying of cancer. One day at work, David gets the phone call he’s been dreading: his father has been rushed to the hospital, and surely will not leave there alive. Just as David is about to leave work to say goodbye to his dad, the police show up and shut down the gym for illegal steroid use, and hold everyone for questioning. Of course, everyone knows it’s Lars’ criminal act that brings the police to the gym, and of course no one squeals. But David becomes increasingly torn by these circumstances, with a desperate desire to share one last moment with his father. David must choose between loyalties, between his birth family and his gang family, between blood bonds and the code of the streets. His decision starts a cycle of revenge; within days, he is ostracized and targeted for violent retribution. Writer and co-director Hennie, who also delivers a sterling performance as David (one of several strong performances in the film) has created an affecting vision of an unexpected urban landscape. Uno reveals the underside of Oslo as it examines one young man’s confrontation with the warring aspects of his life.

 -- Ann Yarabinee