whenever i watch a contemporary film set in northern europe, it always looks so affectedly chill and pleasant…but then i have to remind myself that it’s just like that there. i thought this dragged a bit in the first half, but it really picked up for me when she started recounting the film-within-a-film. that story was quite moving: lots of respect for grown ass women with kids and careers who abandon themselves to extremely teenage feelings. the scenes with the two discussing their writing practise made me feel extremely uncomfortable, and i realized that i only want romantic, idealized depictions of the writing life. it’s simply too painful to relate to the guy not wanting to talk for fear of jinxing the project; but then also relate to the lady for wanting to discuss what she’s working on, and feeling self-conscious that he isn’t paying attention.