The stepmother is, as someone else said, evil personified. But it comes as a shock because during the first 2/3 of the movie she is portrayed in an entirely different light: an abuse survivor who found her calling fighting for abuse victims. Although she is not without flaws, we ultimately think she is a good person; until it's revealed that not only is she a sexual predator, but a narcissist capable of unspeakable evil. A shocking turn in the film that made me literally hate this character. I've known a couple of actual sociopathic narcissists like the lead character in my life, and it's amazing how well they can manipulate people to being on their side, no matter what facts their victims lay out about the abuse inflicted by the narcissist. It's a horrifying dynamic, portrayed all too well in this film. Yes, it's a very entertaining drama thriller, like others that have come out of Scandinavia in recent years especially, but the shock and disgust factor at this character's actions cannot be understated. This one will stay with you.

I will start by saying that I like the Danish title much better than the English one. "Dronningen" means simply "the queen", and that is precisely what Anne (Trine Dyrholm) is in her world. Both at home and at work, she is the solid, self-confident and straightforward monarch everybody knows and expects her to be. Everything threatens to break apart when Gustav (Gustav Lindh), her husband's son from a previous marriage, moves from Stockholm to go live with them in the Danish countryside. She will prove ready to everything in her power in order to salvage her marriage and her reputation from downfall, even if this means to turn her back on everything she stands for.

Although the way in which the moral issues are addressed tends sometimes to be a little bit too didactic (see the fact that Anne's job as a lawyer is to assist teenagers who have suffered from abuses), the plot is overall pretty convincing and I'd dare say even gripping at times, especially in the second part of the film. The acting's also not bad at all, with some moments of genuine intensity.

They say that, sadly, the abused often go on to be abusers in adulthood. To me the most telling moment in this film is when Gustav is interviewing Anne for his tape recording and she refuses to divulge the identity of her first sexual partner - just saying that "sometimes what must never happen is what happens".

Seen through this lens, the film I think deftly explores both sides of Anne's survivor mentality. One the one hand, she has developed a career in helping other abuse victims, and we see the positive effect that she is having on them, and the unforgiving approach that she takes towards their abusers. On the other hand, we see the various negative effects of her determination to protect the family life that she has built (and of which she is "Queen"). Recognising that Gustav's arrival threatens to disrupt everything, she literally stops at nothing to neutralise the threat - first by drawing him in via seduction (even though this means she herself becomes an abuser), then by forcing him out.

Personally, I don't see the ending as inevitable but Anne is ready for it as one option. Before that, but after she has told him that the affair is over, there are a couple of key scenes where she lays it on the line for him - effectively asking "what do you want?" and "you must have known this would end". In my view, this is her survivor mindset telling him to grow up fast and get over it, or get out. She really doesn't mind which way he chooses, now that she has regained control of her husband and family.

Everyone in this film is a victim, really.