XL

Deputy Leifur is a total wreck. An inveterate drinker, glutton, and womanizer, his family has fallen apart and he almost never sees his daughter. He shrouds the present in an impenetrable alcoholic haze, and dissolves his past in a succession of severe hangovers. Leifur is living one huge party in a constant desire to see the bottom of another bottle and denuded female loins. After he causes a public scandal, the prime minister forces him to seek treatment. So it’s time to throw a farewell party, a real humdinger.… Director Marteinn Þórsson isn’t aiming at a psychological study or even a hefty drama. Instead he offers his audiences caricatured sketches of his characters, relying on strong stylization and hyperbole. The unique, seemingly disorganised narrative form contributes to the harrowing viewing experience: XL supplies a steady stream of highly expressive sequences which project fragments of a depraved world inhabited by burnt-out losers and hyenas. And Leifur just hangs there, inert, at the center of the action, fully possessed by his alcoholic demons. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)