This powerful foreign language drama from co-writer and director Thomas Vinterberg (The Celebration) turns its gaze onto Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), a lonely teacher caught in a custody battle, whose life spins out of control after a child wrongly accuses him of abuse. While the story focuses on Lucas, it is also an indictment of a small community that immediately shuns one of its own, presuming guilt and enforcing brutal condemnation rather than seeking the truth. Mikkelsen has fast-tracked his way onto the A-list thanks to his restrained villainy in Casino Royale and his creepy re-imaging of the serial cannibal on television’s Hannibal, butThe Hunt showcases an against-type effort that could cement his status on the firmament. Now open at Esquire Theatre. (R) Not screened in time for review.
