Overview
A cop's quest for redemption leads him into a web of small-town secrets and dark choices.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- witty
- brooding
- deadpan
- late night viewing
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics broadly praised this knotty Danish neo-noir for its expertly constructed psychological suspense, unexpected turns, low-key performances, and sympathetic treatment of flawed characters.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Robert encounters a South Jutland village where disappearances, domestic abuse, and vigilante justice are absorbed into local custom.
Robert halts vigilante punishment after recognizing that the prime suspect is innocent, while the town’s norms resist outside intervention.
The film juxtaposes cows, mud, and country routines with missing people, abuse, infidelity, and escalating psychological danger.
Robert is removed from Copenhagen after a professional mistake and tries to protect vulnerable people while reconnecting with his daughter.
Films like Terribly Happy, and why
Blood Simple
shared neo-noir crime tension, morally compromised characters, and darkly comic small-town atmosphere
Fargo
shared offbeat psychological thriller structure, rural secrets, and unsettling deadpan humor
The Pledge
shared bleak provincial setting, outsider protagonist, and slow-building moral corruption
The Guilty
shared Scandinavian noir mood, social claustrophobia, and psychologically pressured characters
Movie Details
- Director
- Henrik Ruben Genz
- Release Date
- 2008-07-15
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (121)
Cast
- Jakob Cedergren
- Lene Maria Christensen
- Kim Bodnia
- Lars Brygmann
- Anders Hove
- Mathilde Maack
- Anh Le
- Jens Jørn Spottag
- Henrik Lykkegaard
- Peter Hesse Overgaard
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- OVID
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Terribly Happy about?
- A disgraced Copenhagen policeman finds rural South Jutland’s buried crimes more dangerous than the city scandal that sent him there.
- What is Terribly Happy like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Terribly Happy as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Terribly Happy violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Terribly Happy as moderate.
- What did critics think of Terribly Happy?
- Critics broadly praised this knotty Danish neo-noir for its expertly constructed psychological suspense, unexpected turns, low-key performances, and sympathetic treatment of flawed characters.
- Which films are like Terribly Happy?
- Films with a similar feel include Blood Simple, Fargo, The Pledge, and The Guilty.
- How long is Terribly Happy?
- Terribly Happy runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch Terribly Happy?
- In United States, Terribly Happy streams on OVID.
