At the end of the day - DVD

Content: The aspiring politician Robert (Simon Schwarz) is about to enter the hot phase of his first major election campaign. But before he finally throws himself into the time-consuming work, he wants to spend a relaxing weekend with his wife Katharina (Anna Unterberger) in the Tyrolean Alps. The joy of this short holiday is quickly dampened when the newly married couple notice that they are being followed by a car. When Robert tries to confront the driver, he turns out to be his long-forgotten childhood friend Wolfgang (Nicholas Ofczarek). Despite Wolfgang's somewhat strange behaviour, the initial shock is quickly forgotten and the journey can be continued in a relaxed manner. But after a short time Wolfgang reappears and stubbornly attaches himself to the enervated couple. Little by little his motives become clear, which are connected to a dark secret from Robert's past. And suddenly Katharina is forced to see sides of her husband that could spell the end for both their marriage and his political career...

With Am Ende des Tages, Peter Payer has directed a very dense psychological thriller that, despite the sweeping Alpine backdrop, often takes on almost chamber-play-like traits. Thomas Prodinger's excellent camerawork, in combination with the music, is able to build up a very oppressive atmosphere, which makes the whole thing seem threatening and suspenseful even in the many quieter moments. Payer manages especially well to tear away the slick surface of Robert more and more and to reveal his true abysses. The couple's ideal world, which the viewer is shown at the beginning, quickly proves to be extremely fragile and threatens to be completely destroyed in light of what Wolfgang knows about Robert.

While Wolfgang's obsession lacks a bit of the subtlety that makes the film so effective in so many other moments, it's not the same. Especially when he suddenly changes his outer appearance (how, of course, shall not be revealed here), it does seem a bit over the top at the beginning. Only when the whole truth is revealed to the viewer, this transformation also makes a bit more sense. Still, the feeling remains that this obvious confrontation with the secret that connects Wolfgang and Robert would not have been necessary and that the story would have worked very well as it is.

However, even if there are a few small bumpy moments or dramaturgical weaknesses, Am Ende des Tages works very well on balance, which is due to the intense acting of the three main actors in addition to the engaging atmosphere. All three ensure that the protagonists are very interesting and come across as very strong and convincing even in moments where they have to fight some somewhat clichéd dialogue. Peter Payer's award-winning thriller is therefore, despite all its minor flaws, first-class suspense cinema from Austria, which lovers of chamber-play-like psychological thrillers should not miss. Absolutely worth seeing!

Image + Sound: The image of the DVD captures the oppressive mood of the film very well with its atmospheric color scheme. The sharpness of the picture and the matching of contrasts also more than do justice to the good camera work. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is primarily dominated by more centrally mixed dialogue, music and ambient sounds. However, there are occasional moments where the surround channels are audibly put to use. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has a decent making of (approx. 16:09 min.), insightful interviews (approx. 25:10 min.), as well as the trailer and a music clip (approx. 5:04 min.) to offer. Good!

Conclusion: Am Ende des Tages is an oppressive and very intensely acted psycho-thriller from Austria, which just by the deceptive idyll of the beautiful natural scenery despite its rather leisurely pace can build a very special stirring atmosphere. On the DVD, the award-winning thriller presents itself in good picture and sound quality and also has a few extras on board that are worth seeing. Who appreciates chamber play-like suspense cinema from Austria, should definitely watch this film. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp