Mielensäpahoittaja (The Grump)
2014
**
Director: Dome Karukoski
Cast: Antti Litja, Petra Frey, Mari Perankoski, Iikka Forss, Viktor Drevitski, Kari Ketonen, Mikko Neuvonen, Bruno Puolakainen, Janne Reinikainen, Alina Tomnikov
The elderly nameless protagonist is an old school hick who is permanently at odds with the modern world. After injuring himself in a fall, he is forced to live with his son's family in the city. In Tuomas Kyrö's enjoyable radio plays and books, this old grump was a lonely disgruntled voice who vented out his frustrations in several comically observed letters. The film adaptation attempts to turn this subjective observer into a believable three-dimensional character, and the end result is like a reverse Mr. Chance, an old man who is blissfully unaware how rude, annoying, and politically incorrect he is. In the process, Dome Karukoski has changed the genre from comedy to drama. However, I didn't find myself laughing or touched. Maybe the books are simply unfilmable.
