Diorama (2022) review: A scientific perspective on family dynamics that utterly falls short

Diorama, a Swedish comedy-drama on Netflix, follows the story of a couple and how their passionate marriage gradually falls apart due to temptations, misunderstandings, and poor communication. The movie is now streaming on Netflix.

Story

After years of dating, Frida and Bjorn have been married for ten years and have three children. As working parents, they both find their passionate lives overshadowed by their busy mornings and monotonous lives.

Frida realizes how stagnant their marriage has become and wants to spice things up by offering marriage counselling, a break, or even a threesome to Bjorn.

He dismisses all of them, advising her to stop complicating things because counselling isn’t the answer to everything. As a solution, they both decide to spend the night away from their problems rather than working on them. When they do take a break, it ends up being a disaster.

Their marriage crumbles as a result of their refusal to acknowledge and resolve the issues. The rest of the movie covers their divorce, intense disputes, child custody, resentment, and eventual separation.

Performances

Pia Tjelta’s characterization of Frida is impressive. The actress perfectly captures the character, and her performance appears extremely genuine.

David Dencik’s performance as Bjorn is not that great, but it’s tolerable when you consider the actors’ work.

Other supporting characters are one-dimensional. They are simply bland and unpleasant, and their every attempt to evoke emotions from the viewer fails time and again.

Positives

In an effort to explore whether monogamy is a biological trait of humans or a taught behavior, the director contrasts Frida and Bjorn’s marital woes with other species’ romantic exploits. In doing so, the director deftly conjures up a vibrant and wild backdrop for her story.

The story’s concept may be a bit implausible, but the film’s imaginative and colorful topic makes up for it. Additionally, the movie’s climactic scene demonstrates that even seemingly insignificant outcomes can bring about immense satisfaction.

Negatives

Diorama is the polar opposite of a comedy; it fails miserably and is plain cringe-worthy. Usually, this is due to the actor’s talent, the storyline, and a lack of creativity, but everything fails in this case.

The sequences in which Frida and Bjorn hit rock bottom in their relationship and love turns into blind hatred are dramatically overdone. In addition, the pacing is slowed down by too many lengthy scenes that are unnecessary and boring.

Up until the finale, the narrative is stagnant for a very long period. There’s some growth or change in the lives of the characters. It’s hardly extraordinary, though. However, the poor comedy and plot aren’t enough to keep the audience entertained until the very end.

The climax is predictable, as both Bjorn and Frida move on from one another and enter into relationships with other people they find sexually appealing.

Verdict

Diorama is a monotonous film about love, life, marriage, and how it all comes down to our biological nature. It’s exhausting to see two mature people fight throughout the film due to their lack of communication, and the lesson gets lost somewhere in the midst of those confrontations. In conclusion, it’s a mediocre film that tries hard but fails to deliver or entertain.

Diorama
Diorama (2022) review: A scientific perspective on family dynamics that utterly falls short 1

Director: Tuva Novotny

Date Created: 2022-09-06 12:30

Editor's Rating:
1

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