Suppose you discover your husband is cheating on you with a much younger and prettier woman. So you create a fake identity and befriend his mistress while you plot your revenge.
That improbable premise rather shakily underpins Black Ice, a psychological thriller from Finnish writer-director Petri Kowtica, his second film following Homesick. It’s a reasonably engaging and intriguing film until the last act when the plot relies on cheap contrivances and loses its grip on reality.
It was a box-office hit at home and won six Jussi Awards (Finland's Oscars) including best film, which suggests the Finns are suckers for over-heated melodrama.
Aki Kaurismaki regular Outi Maenpaa plays Saara, a surgeon whose suspicions are aroused on her birthday when she discovers a packet of condoms in her architect husband Leo's (Martti Suosalo) guitar case. Unconvinced by his ridiculous explanation, she soon discovers he’s having an affair with Tuuli (Ria Kataja), one of his students who also teaches a martial arts class.
Saara insists on a separation despite Leo’s pleas to stay together, adopts a false name and occupation (psychologist) and joins Tuuli’s classes. The women quickly form a bond, and while Saara is understandably peeved to learn the affair had been going on for nearly a year and her husband is a serial adulterer, the sympathy we might feel for her is lessened when she cheerfully bonks a German lad she meets at a party.
The suspense builds nicely as Saara tries to keep Tuuli and Leo apart, and her ultimate motives remain murky - until that last act when the carefully-calibrated thriller morphs into farce.
The performances from the two central women are terrific, especially Kataja as the naïve, trusting Tuuli. However Suosalo plays such a boring, uninteresting character you wonder why they fight over him. Another minus is the lugubrious score by Eicca Toppinen, which is an annoying distraction rather than a subtle reinforcement of the shifting moods. Minimal extras include the theatrical trailer, selected scenes and plugs for upcoming Madman releases.
