Review: Skymning 41 – berättelsen om Molly och Henry

Molly and Henry’s strong love story becomes the anchor in Skymning 41 at Lilla Teatern

Kjell Westö’s versatile and winding depiction of the war years becomes a delicious costume drama with a strong love story at the centre.

When the Winter War breaks out, the newly in love Molly (Saga Sarkola) and Henry (Elmer Bäck) are both expected to do their part for the fatherland.

The journalist Henry is sent to the front, not as a soldier because he is too old for that at the age of just over forty, but as a reporter. And the actor Molly travels with her theatre colleagues through the war to Sweden to collect donations for the war effort.

Henry is a skilled writer but he is plagued by what he experiences at the front, and he feels a strong need to write the truth about the death and destruction that he witnesses. But this is unthinkable under war censorship. The war-glorifying clichés that are in demand disgust him.

Molly, in turn, wants to create works that deal with the human condition, but during the war years, it is instead light-hearted films and high-flown blank verse in the theater that apply.

During the chaotic months, their relationship takes two steps forward, two steps back. It’s a booze-soaked existence both at work and in my spare time. Henry doesn’t know where he’s going with his life, maybe nowhere.

In the evenings he drinks with old acquaintances that it is unclear if he even likes.

The whole performance is unusually atmospheric and well-made.

Fine depiction of booze-soaked war years

The performance, directed by David Sandqvist and dramatized by Annina Enckell, changes smoothly through countless scene changes thanks to well-thought-out set design solutions. A delicious costume design by Sari Suominen contributes to the atmospheric depiction of the time.

The story contains a myriad of characters and environments in a Western-style way. It takes place in the editorial office, at the front, in the countryside, at film shoots and premiere parties.

Rewarding roles

Most of the cast members alternate between several roles and everyone finds grateful characters to indulge in.

Joachim Wigelius plays a clumsy film producer with dedication, Pia Runnakko as Molly’s mother plays a bitter and harsh housewife.

Alexander Wendelin wallows in the role of the young film star known as “Finland’s Cary Grant“. Vivi Lindberg plays the younger actor colleague who is about to replace Molly in the lead roles.

And Antti Timonen plays an excellent supporting role as Henry’s troublesome friend from his youth, a bitter and unreliable character who is impossible to get rid of.

Through it all, Molly and Henry’s love story serves as the anchor of the story.

It’s not a stormy love story.

It’s rather… careless, in a way that is both touching and deeply human. Just like adults can behave before they are mature enough to make a decision about whether to live together.

Henry’s vacillation is not only a lack of character, but also portrays the difficulty of living an authentic life when the truth is silenced and the lie is rewarded.

The review on Svenska Yle’s website