At first glance, the claim appears to be preposterous—it cannot be mere coincidence that he should turn up just as the all-important wedding is about to commence—and Margrete believes that he's an imposter. However, other people in power are convinced the newcomer is actually who he says he is, threatening to throw both the wedding and the fragile alliance between the countries into doubt. When Margrete learns that no one actually saw Oluf’s body after his alleged death, she's forced to confront the possibility that his story is true. With only a few days before everything that she has worked for collapses around her, Margrete sends off a couple of trusted advisors to look into the story and does some nosing around on her own. Meanwhile, the increasingly frustrated Erik lets power go to his head and finds himself unwittingly being manipulated by a number of people who wish to seize control for themselves.
In terms of surface details, “Margrete: Queen of the North” is certainly of interest. Director Charlotte Sieling has given the production (filmed in the Czech Republic) a handsome mounting, while still honoring the grittiness of the period. The film also benefits from a strong, convincing performance from Dyrholm as Queen Margrete, a ruler who has devoted everything to bring peace to the land and will go to any lengths to ensure that all that she has worked for is not lost. Queen Margrete could have easily been reduced to little more than a cliché but she makes her into a real and compelling character.
Too bad that the same cannot be said for the film as a whole. While the basic outline of the story is intriguing, the screenplay by Sieling and co-writers Maya Ilsee and Jesper Fink never quite figures out how to make it compelling in cinematic terms. Outside of Margrete herself, the other characters have not been developed especially well, and it becomes hard to work up much interest in all of the intrigues and betrayals on display. By the time "Margrete" gets to its grand finale, what should have made for a shocking and powerful moment will inspire little more than a shrug from most viewers.
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