Magnus von Horn’s mesmerizing Cannes competition drama, *Pigen med nålen* (*The Girl with the Needle*), presents two equally engaging viewing experiences. You may choose to dive in without any background, letting its disturbing layers gradually reveal themselves, or you can watch it with an awareness of the bleak historical incidents that loosely inspired it—a chilling true crime narrative from the 1920s. For those not acquainted with the history, the specifics will be disclosed later in this review, but no matter how you engage with it, the film compellingly examines which narratives are shared and, crucially, how they are portrayed. Captured in stark black-and-white, the cinematography heightens the violence and despair simmering in the film’s corners and at its core, crafting a visceral period drama centered around motherhood, desperation, and survival.
### What is *The Girl with the Needle* about?
Set against the backdrop of post-World War I Copenhagen, the narrative follows Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne), a young working-class woman striving to survive. After being evicted from her cramped attic apartment, she confronts a bleak situation: her spouse is missing in action, presumed dead, but without formal acknowledgment, she cannot qualify for widow’s benefits. A brief romance with her factory owner seems to provide a flicker of hope, but entrenched class barriers swiftly extinguish any possibility of a future together, even after she finds herself pregnant with his child.
Faced with the prospect of raising a child alone under her grim circumstances, Karoline resorts to a self-induced abortion at a public bath, employing a long, sharp object—the titular needle. This scene is heartbreaking and tough to witness but is interrupted by Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a middle-aged woman who, alongside her teenage daughter, intervenes just in time. Dagmar presents Karoline with an option: should she decide against keeping her baby after giving birth, she should seek her out.
As time moves on, the daunting realities of early motherhood compel Karoline to visit Dagmar at her confectionery shop. Dagmar assures her that she will place the baby with a family in need, taking the infant away within hours. Left with limited time to rethink her choice, Karoline opts to serve as a wet nurse for Dagmar’s operation, hoping to alleviate her guilt.
It takes almost half of the film’s two-hour runtime for Karoline and Dagmar’s pivotal meeting to materialize, but the time spent with Karoline prior offers a vibrant depiction of her resilience, imperfections, and urgency.
### Layered performances elevate *The Girl with the Needle*.
From the beginning, Karoline is depicted as a multifaceted character. In an early moment, she displays a flicker of playful cruelty toward a young boy, revealing her unpredictable, youthful essence. Sonne’s performance is impeccable, encapsulating Karoline’s muted frustration as she maneuvers through a world that continuously confines her—whether through the claustrophobic camera angles or the stifling situations of her life. One particularly jarring scene involves her experiencing a forced gynecological examination by the affluent mother of her factory owner.
The cinematography complements Sonne’s performance, utilizing tight close-ups and stark imagery to highlight her exhaustion and captivity. Right from the start, Karoline is on the verge of a breaking point, rendering her choice to reject motherhood feel not just justifiable but unavoidable.
Dagmar’s entry brings a breath of relief and emancipation to Karoline’s existence. Residing in Dagmar’s apartment above the confectionery, Karoline finds meaning in nurturing Dagmar’s daughter and the infants that flow through the operation. For the first time, she senses a taste of freedom. However, as Dagmar’s true character begins to emerge, the fractures in this newfound tranquility become painfully evident. The men surrounding Dagmar appear to know something that Karoline does not, and even Dagmar’s daughter starts to demonstrate unsettling behavior. Karoline’s intrigue about Dagmar’s operation intensifies, yet her desire to preserve her delicate stability prevents her from probing too deeply.
Sonne’s performance serves as the film’s anchor, illustrating Karoline’s internal struggle as she balances her quest for clarity with her yearning for serenity. For viewers unaware of the film’s historical foundation, the gradual unspooling of the narrative is both shocking and disorienting. For those aware of the true events, the tension is tangible from the outset.
### The chilling history behind *The Girl with the Needle*.
Although the film conceals Dagmar’s true identity until late in the story, subtle hints—such as an apartment nameplate—suggest her real-life counterpart: Dagmar Overbye, a notorious Danish serial killer responsible for the deaths of dozens of infants in the early 20th century. Experiencing the film without this insight amplifies the horrors of the revelations, while those informed about the history will find the tale unsettling from the very beginning. The film scrutinizes how desperation can be manipulated and twisted, transforming acts of supposed kindness into something far more sinister.