Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round grapples with the decision to walk the tightrope of alcoholism, toying with the audience as a group of male teachers tread along the fine line between drinking for fun and drinking to survive. This film depicts the natural spiral of alcoholism, beginning with a harmless, seemingly intelligent research experiment to busy the dull lives of a few adult men. However, the upward swing each of them experience slowly plummets, leaving each of them with irreversible damage. Vinterberg does a brilliant yet chilling job of bouncing between the excitement of consistent drinking and the dangers that will ultimately take over. A few mixed drinks turn a depressing and bleak dinner into an amusing, freeing night out with friends. A few drinks can also turn a boring history curriculum into a captivating, interactive classroom experience. A few shots can take an anxiety-ridden student and allow his mind to reach deep and complex thinking. Drinks can also take a quiet man and turn him into a monster.
The film score of Another Round gives the audience insight into the underlying message of each scene. Not every scene is accompanied by music, but the meticulously chosen events that include a classical score or a rock song throw quite a powerful punch into what the audience should be paying attention to. The film opens with a montage of high school students partying on a weekend afternoon, yet the score behind the scenes is very dark and depressing. This decision served as a hint towards the underlying dangers of casual drinking. The relationship between teenagers and alcohol is seen as freeing, socially acceptable, and entertaining. The focus of this film lies within the relationship between adults and alcohol, when it benefits one’s life, when it fully encompasses one’s identity, and how it affects the lives of those around them, both positively and negatively. When the group of teachers empty their minds and replace thoughts with alcoholic drinks, the music shifts towards a vibrant rock score. The men feel eighteen again, laughing until they cannot catch their breath, dancing on bar countertops, and embracing each other with a childlike, playful sort of love. Then, when the gradual catastrophe hits, the montage of drinking is silent and shown in slow-motion.
The editing of this film is another chilling aspect that puts the darkness of the men’s reality into perspective. Black screens are sporadically thrown into the progression of the plot, showcasing a slowly increasing blood alcohol content or a heavy text message from a past partner. Many of the scenes are separated by a cut to a black screen as well, but they seem to hold the darkness for a moment longer than expected, giving the film an uncomfortable edge. However, the brilliance lies in the choices of sound incorporation. Martin, played by Mads Mikkelsen, serves as the plot’s epicenter; his sighs sound as if his mouth of morning vodka is breathing on the back of the viewer’s neck. Another Round essentially tells the audience that although society stereotypes these adults as responsible and composed intellectuals, it does not mean that they are any less susceptible to alcohol dependency than their own teenage students when it comes to the temptation of excessive drinking.