If you aren’t a striving young author struggling with romantic disappointment and mental instability, this Norwegian import might feel self-indulgent. Yet the picture has a real feel for its tortured characters. It starts out navel-gazing and ends up empathetic. The film centers on Phillip (Anders Danielson Lie) and Erik (Espen Kloumanhoiner), two close young friends with grand literary ambitions. Phillip quickly gets a novel published but suffers a mental breakdown soon after. Erik stands by him, even though his writing has yet to take off and a sliver of jealousy now stands between them. Rather than succumb to starving-artist syndrome, director Joachim Trier gives Reprise a genuine sense of compassion. His sad characters spend little time feeling sorry for themselves, which makes it infinitely easier for us to have sympathy for them.
