Beverly’s Review of ‘Another Round’

Our volunteer Beverly has kindly written a short piece about the Danish film ‘Another Round’ 

Like many people, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with alcohol. I like to think I am a responsible drinker, I’ve been tipsy but I have also been embarrassingly drunk – more than once. I’ve woken up with a hangover swearing never to touch a drop of alcohol again. As someone who grew up with an alcoholic parent, I know what the ugly side of heavy drinking looks like, but I still enjoy a glass of wine.

We “responsible drinkers” may feel a bit uncomfortable when confronted with the harm that alcohol causes, maybe because it reminds us of our own embarrassing moments. However, if we want to tackle the harm caused to our communities by alcohol, we must be willing to see both sides. Reverend Richard Coles, whose partner died of alcohol-related liver disease in 2019, wrote recently the media is at risk of “romanticising” dangerous drinking because the harsh reality “spoils our enjoyment of a daily pleasure for the vast majority who ‘drink responsibly’”.

It was with this in mind that I went along to see the Oscar-winning Danish film, Another Round, which had been described in some reviews as a celebration of drinking. ‘Druk’, the original Danish title translates roughly as ‘binge drinking’ and most of the trailers feature actors swigging with abandon from bottles and having a seemingly wonderful time. Was this film going to be a 90-minute advert for the alcohol industry or a parable about the evils of drink? Is it possible to make an enjoyable film that balances the fun of being slightly tipsy with the horror of ending up passed out in the street?

The short answer is yes.

It’s a great film about friendship, families and yes, drinking. It’s the story of 4 middle-aged teachers who feel they are stuck in a rut. They decide to conduct an experiment by agreeing to see if being slightly drunk will improve their lives at work and home. Initial results are promising when they maintain a strict blood alcohol level of 0.05%; the men seem more relaxed, more confident, more spontaneous. Some of us might say the same about our own drinking, that it helps us relax, make us less shy, give us a wee bit of Dutch courage so to speak. But as the men discover, it’s hard to maintain that delicate balance between being “just drunk enough” and “too drunk”. As they raise their daily alcohol level, things start to go wrong. Their behaviour becomes out of control, and they can no longer see the impact of their drinking on themselves and those close to them. As I watched these 4 men move from hilarious drunken scenes to moments of sadness and humiliation, I swithered between wishing I had a glass of fizz in my hand to toast them and feeling queasy at the amount of alcohol being consumed.

Like the Danes, we Scots can be bullishly proud of our hard-drinking reputation. Lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have fuelled the idea that we are being prevented from exercising our most valuable freedom – to go to the pub and get absolutely hammered.

Another Round is not a judgemental film, those seeking a clear moral statement about the evils of alcohol won’t find it here. I think the director managed to show both the fun of being a bit tipsy and the damage that heavy drinking causes. There is a sadness at the heart of the film which reminded me why alcohol-related illnesses are often called diseases of despair. Like the men in the film, many of us are using alcohol to cover up depression, anxiety, grief.

To address the harm that alcohol is causing in our communities, we need to have an honest conversation that doesn’t scare off the responsible drinkers.


If you are worried about someone else’s alcohol or drug use, we are here to listen and to help. You can contact our team on 08080 10 10 11, helpline@sfad.org.uk or use the webchat on our website.

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