The Girl with the Needle (Pigen med nålen) is inspired by a true story. Between 1915 and 1920, in Copenhagen, a woman, Dagmar Overbye, took money from women who didn’t want to keep their babies and promised to find adoptive homes for the babies. Instead, she murdered them.
Director Magnus von Horn and screenwriter Line Langebek tell this story from the point-of-view of a fictional character, Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne). Her husband has gone off to fight in World War I and not returned. He has even stopped writing, so he is presumed dead. Karoline, who works as a seamstress, attracts the attention of her young boss, Jørgen (Joachim Fjelstrup). They have an affair and Jørgen falls in love with her. When Karoline becomes pregnant, he wants to marry her. But Jørgen’s mother forbids him from having further contact with Karoline, who now finds herself pregnant, unmarried, without a job and desperately poor.
At a bathhouse, Karoline tries to give herself an abortion using a needle. She is saved by an older woman, Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), who owns a candy store, but also runs an underground business taking unwanted babies and finding homes for them. Karoline begins working for Dagmar in the shop, but her duties also include nursing babies before they are given away.
Karoline’s husband, Peter (Besir Zeciri), suddenly returns. His face is so mutilated from his war injuries that he wears a mask to avoid shocking others. When Karoline gives birth, Peter is happy to raise the baby, even though he is not the blood father. However, Karoline takes her baby away and turns it over to Dagmar.
Eventually, Karoline discovers that Dagmar has murdered dozens of babies, including Karoline’s.
The Girl with the Needle, which was filmed in black and white, is well-made all around, However, before you decide to watch this film you should ask yourself if it is worth it to endure two hours of misery to enjoy a few seconds that pass as a happy ending.
