On 22 July 2011, a far-right terrorist killed 77 innocent people including children. He did this to wage a war against religion and political views he did not agree with. Seven years later, Paul Greengrass created this potent film to tell the aftermath.

The film starts with the terrorist preparing for the assault and also shows the summer camp on the island of Utøya. The tension begins rising until the Greengrass shows a very detailed Utøya massacre and the Oslo bombing. The terrorist surrenders when the police reach the island. From here the story branches in two ways. We are shown the courtroom proceedings of bringing the perpetrator to justice and we are also shown the struggles of the survivor, particularly of Viljar Hanssen, an 18-year-old boy who is critically wounded with bullet shrapnel lodged in his brain.

Paul, who comes with the background of the Bourne series in the past, could not completely dial down the action sequences of the actual attack and his re-enactments are intensely shot. However, he focuses more on the trial and tries to understand the vile thought patterns of the terrorists which led him to pull the trigger on young children.

The courtroom scenes are played out in detail, and we are also given the statement of the terrorist. What works well is how the terrorist's testimony comes broken in parts of the editing and how Viljar Hanssen's statement comes towards the very end of the film. This goes on to show what should be rightly in the focus despite the horrible attack.

This is made with local Norwegian actors, and they have performed really well. Anders Danielsen Lie, who plays the terrorist makes a mark by showing his commitment to his demented desires. Jonas Strand Gravli as Viljar is believable and sincere. Even Ola G. Furuseth as the prime minister remains in your memory with his shaken psyche but committed presence on screen.

Paul's camera remains somewhat shaky to retain tension and to keep the narrative simmering at the right temperature, but I am not personally very fond of this technique.

For non-jingoistic, down to earth handling of a tragedy, as well as for keeping the nation and humanity at the heart of it, this movie is worth a watch.