03-14-2015, 09:55 PM
We’re once more back in Norwegia (let me know when this gets annoying), and again it’s a low-budget affair. In the extras, the director jokes that the budget would cover a lunch break on a Hollywood production, but that’s an exaggeration, and the production values are surprisingly high.
Roger is a charming scoundrel who recruits high-level people for various companies (a headhunter). As a side-business, he uses his knowledge of the better-heeled candidates to steal valuable artwork from their homes (replacing the originals with fakes that might not be discovered for years). He then sells these artworks on the black market. To what purpose? To buy expensive gifts for his tall, blond, beautiful wife. He’s short, with an inferiority complex, living in fear of losing her.
When a perfect candidate shows up and flirts with his wife, Roger decides to target him -- only to find himself in way over his head. Reminiscent of the Coen brothers’ Blood Simple, things don’t go quite the way planned, requiring ever more intricate endeavors.
A fun cerebral mystery with lots of suspenseful twists and turns, well-acted except for one weak casting choice, and with a truly inspired performance by Aksel Hennie as Roger.
The DVD has a very good “Making of” segment, highlighted by the travails of working with a monstrous pitbull imported from Russia for the shoot (they’re illegal in Norwegia (again, let me know if this is getting annoying)).
Recommended.
Roger is a charming scoundrel who recruits high-level people for various companies (a headhunter). As a side-business, he uses his knowledge of the better-heeled candidates to steal valuable artwork from their homes (replacing the originals with fakes that might not be discovered for years). He then sells these artworks on the black market. To what purpose? To buy expensive gifts for his tall, blond, beautiful wife. He’s short, with an inferiority complex, living in fear of losing her.
When a perfect candidate shows up and flirts with his wife, Roger decides to target him -- only to find himself in way over his head. Reminiscent of the Coen brothers’ Blood Simple, things don’t go quite the way planned, requiring ever more intricate endeavors.
A fun cerebral mystery with lots of suspenseful twists and turns, well-acted except for one weak casting choice, and with a truly inspired performance by Aksel Hennie as Roger.
The DVD has a very good “Making of” segment, highlighted by the travails of working with a monstrous pitbull imported from Russia for the shoot (they’re illegal in Norwegia (again, let me know if this is getting annoying)).
Recommended.