I tweeted that this documentary was like Close-Up but for Danish post-millennials which, admittedly is a overstatement. However the premise is mostly similar. A woman, Amanda Kastrup, is reenacting a crime in which she was a victim. She is a single mother who meets a man on the internet who happens to be an Augustinus. The Augustinus are one of Denmark’s richest families. She wasn’t even looking for a man but there he is, Casper, at her doorstep. Again, Amanda plays herself in this docudrama but a professional actor, Esben Dalgaard Andersen, is playing Casper. The docudrama couldn’t get the real Casper to participate because he’s a dirt bag. The documentary’s job, then, is to show what kind of dirt bag Casper is. And this could go of two ways. He can be both rich and shady or he isn’t who he says he is, which happens all the time.
Both the real, off screen Casper, and the movie’s director Nicole N. Horanyi, are responsible for its smart misdirection. Casper taking Amanda to vacations to prove his wealth is one misdirection of many. All of this seems real to her and the audience, which is great. Though it spends way too much time showing Amanda pining at her man. It also, again, makes her retrace her steps with a good actor. She even forgets that he looks literally bigger than his pictures. However, Horanyi drags her feet at taking the wool out of Amanda and the audience’s eyes. Prolonging the arrival of a plot revelation doesn’t make it less predictable. There will also be audience members literally yelling at the screen. They’ll be pointing out the red flags that she should have seen by then. Nonetheless, it’s a thrilling ride that evokes emotions about the perils of internet dating.
