Shot mostly in and around the Norwegian capital Oslo, the film, which was released in 2001, is primarily based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen's novel Brødre i blodet ("Blood brothers", 1996), one of a series of four featuring the Elling character – the others are Utsikt til paradiset ("A view of paradise", 1993), Fugledansen ("The bird dance", 1995), and Elsk meg i morgen ("Love me tomorrow", 1999).

The movie deals with the main character, Elling, a man in his 40s with generalized anxiety, and his struggle to function normally in society.

The Norwegian government pays for the two to move into an apartment in Oslo, where every day is a challenge as they must prove they can get out into the real world and lead relatively normal lives.

The website's critical consensus states: "Quirky without being overly cutesy, Elling is a gentle, warm comedy".

[2] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".