Terribly Happy

Robert Hansen is reassigned by the chief of police in Tonder to become the sole officer in the boggy village of Skarrild. He is still haunted by a recent breakdown and therapy after threatening his wife and her lover with a gun. He longs for the assignment to end quickly so he can be back with his daughter Dorthe, who believes he is in Australia.

In Skarrild, Robert meets Dr. Zerleng and his two cronies—the grocer and the priest—who want him as the fourth player in their regular card game. He also encounters Ingelise Buhl, a wife suffering from marital abuse who begins to insinuate herself into his life. The encounter hints at the locals' willingness to handle issues privately.

Robert visits the local bicycle shop but finds it empty. He is told the owner disappeared some time ago, a hint that the town keeps its own rules. This absence underscores the locals' preference for private justice rather than involving the police.

After a string of minor incidents, it becomes clear that the residents prefer to mete out justice in their own way rather than involve the authorities from Tonder. Robert senses the boundaries of his authority are being tested. The town's silence weighs on him as he tries to do his job.

Robert becomes protective of Ingelise after her husband Jørgen abuses her. He goes to her home to check on her, and she begins to seduce him. He begins to feel something for her, complicating his sense of duty.

During the encounter, Ingelise's moans threaten to wake Jørgen on the stairs. Robert muffles her with a pillow and accidentally suffocates her. He escapes before Jørgen wakes, leaving the body behind. The next day the locals are alerted, and the doctor arrives.

The doctor arrives to examine the body and persuades Robert to claim cardiac arrest as the cause of death. He fears Tonder authorities would be drawn in, and believes Jørgen actually killed Ingelise. Robert wrestles with guilt and the prospect of Dorthe being left an orphan.

At Ingelise's funeral luncheon, the priest counsels Robert to watch Jørgen, as the townspeople already suspect him of murder. The atmosphere reveals how quickly the locals condemn a wife-beater and how far they will go to protect their own brand of justice.

That night, two cars drive Jørgen out of town and toward the bog; Robert notices and pulls his pistol to stop the men, shocking everyone. He forces the men to back off and retrieves Jørgen, bringing him home at dawn. The incident marks the first direct challenge to the town's private justice by Robert.

The next morning, Dorthe, who has been hiding at the grocer's, tells Robert she saw him leaving Ingelise's house the night she died. He reassures her that it was a misunderstanding and takes Dorthe back to her father. This strengthens his resolve to keep the family intact while remaining entangled with the villagers' suspicions.

Jørgen challenges Robert in a bar, and after six beers and five shots each, they duel back at Robert's apartment. Jørgen retrieves the missing uniform button, and Robert, sensing what happened, shoots him twice, killing him. He then drags the body into the bog and returns to his car to sleep, exhausted and guilt-ridden.

The next morning, the Tonder chief arrives to investigate the boot found in the bog and dredges up the bicycle shop owner's body. He suggests they could declare suicide and send Robert back to Copenhagen, easing his guilt and freeing him from Skarrild. Robert wrestles with the idea of returning to his old life.

Robert begins packing his bags, preparing to leave Skarrild. He stops by the doctor's ongoing card game to say goodbye, but the locals reveal they know what happened with Ingelise and Jørgen. They tell him they are glad to be rid of them and warn him they know things about him that could hurt him back home.

The grocer tells Robert, 'You're our man now.' He sits down at the card table and becomes the town's fourth player, accepting a new, uneasy role within Skarrild's vigilante circle. This secures his place and makes him part of the local system of private justice.

Robert is now part of the villagers' card game and private justice network, having traded his old Copenhagen identity for a place in Skarrild. He appears resigned but a bit unsettled, as he becomes the fourth player in their circle. The town seems to have settled around him, for now.