The Boss of It All

Lars von Trier wrote and directed this Danish comedy about an IT company owner named Ravn, who has spent years running his business behind an invented president. Decisions that made him unpopular with staff were issued in the name of this fictional figure, leaving Ravn free to remain well liked. When he decides to sell the firm to an Icelandic buyer, the purchaser insists on meeting the president in person, so Ravn hires Kristoffer, an out-of-work actor, to play the part. What begins as a performance turns into something more demanding as Kristoffer is asked to keep up the role with the employees and confront what the deception means for his own sense of right and wrong.

The film belongs to a run of features von Trier made in the mid-2000s, following Manderlay and preceding his contribution to To Each His Own Cinema. Jens Albinus carries the central double role, with Peter Gantzler as Ravn, Fridrik Thor Fridriksson as the Icelandic buyer and Iben Hjejle among the supporting cast. It was shot across several European countries with a modest budget of about 3 million dollars and took a similar amount at the worldwide box office. Reception was middling and consistent: on IMDb it holds 6.6 from roughly 13,000 votes, on TMDB 6.6 from 331, and a critics' rating of 6.6 from 66 reviews, so audiences and critics landed in much the same place.