ABERDEEN

Year: 2000
USA: First Run Features
Cast: Stellan Skarsgård, Lena Headey, Ian Hart, Charlotte Rampling, Louise Goodall, Jason Hetherington
Director: Hans Petter Moland
Countries: Norway / Sweden / UK
USA: 113 mins
USA Release Date: 17 August 2001 (Limited Release - New York)

Synopsis

Kaisa (Lena Headey), a young, successful Scottish woman, works for a leading London law firm. Out of the blue her mother Helen (Charlotte Rampling) phones her and asks for a favour - will she go to Norway and collect her alcoholic father, Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård) and return with him to Aberdeen where he will try an experimental detox program. This is the last thing that Kaisa would have done especially as he left their family 10 years ago but she is promised his vintage Alfa Romeo in return.

The reunion goes anything but smoothly. Drunk much of the time, Tomas is difficult to handle, dislikes her forthright personality and the professional, smart way she dresses. She is repulsed by his drinking and antisocial habits and to top it all totally dismayed when he enlightens her with the news that he has no intention of entering a detox program and never did. Her mother has well and truly dropped her in a difficult situation and she wants 'out' as quickly as possible.

Prevented from flying from Oslo airport because of her father's behaviour, Kaisa has to endure a long car journey to Scotland instead. However on the way, they meet Clive (Ian Hart), who is pivotal in helping Kaisa let down her emotional defenses and accept her father back into her life.