To authentically portray teachers deliberately maintaining a low level of intoxication, director Thomas Vinterberg and his four leads — Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe — adopted an unusual rehearsal practice: they would meet and drink together “just enough” to loosen inhibitions in front of one another so that on-camera interactions felt lived-in rather than performative. The group also watched footage of heavily inebriated people on YouTube to catalogue the small, unmistakable physical and verbal tells of extreme drunkenness. This borderline-method approach to depicting alcohol use became part of the film’s behind-the-scenes lore — a production choice that critics and audiences have since debated as a risky but creatively committed way to capture the film’s blend of comedy and tragedy.
Preparing the daily feature…
AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2020s
Method intoxication: Vinterberg and the four leads met to drink and studied real drunkenness to shape performances
Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe / Another Round / 2020s
To authentically portray teachers deliberately maintaining a low level of intoxication, director Thomas Vinterberg and his four leads — Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, and Lars Ranthe — adopted an unusual rehearsal practice: they would meet and drink together “just enough” to loosen inhibitions in front of one another so that on-camera interactions felt lived-in rather than performative. The group also watched footage of heavily inebriated people on YouTube to catalogue the small, unmistakable physical and verbal tells of extreme drunkenness. This borderline-method approach to depicting alcohol use became part of the film’s behind-the-scenes lore — a production choice that critics and audiences have since debated as a risky but creatively committed way to capture the film’s blend of comedy and tragedy.
The daily feature is taking an intermission. There’s still an entire archive to explore.