Arctic

Mads Mikkelsen suffers stoically in Arctic

Joe Penna's Arctic is a well told survival tale. Mads Mikkelsen stars as a downed flyer, stranded in the Arctic Circle with minimal tools for survival. The story has its twists and I will not give them away. Artic is more craft than art and all the better for it. Why resort to metaphors and such when one has a canvas as compelling as the icy majesty of the Arctic and the primal theme of man versus nature. Penna occasionally lacks crucial exactitude in his direction, particularly when Mads has to pry a boulder off his leg, but displays a gift for unfussy narrative drive.

Mr. Mikkelsen has risen to star status despite or perhaps because of a creepy onscreen persona. His performance is remarkable and lifts Arctic above the workmanlike. He is a restrained presence, compare his Hannibal to Brian Cox's and Anthony Hopkins' estimable efforts. Here the show is all his. He displays his usual stoicism, but also tenderness with adroit majesty.