Director: Morten Tyldum
Cast: Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Running Time: 100 mins
Certificate: 15
Synopsis: Roger Brown (Hennie) is a high flying corporate headhunter who has grown accustomed to his luxurious lifestyle, and moonlights as an expert thief of fine art to maintain it. When the opportunity of a lifetime presents itself in the form of Clas Greve (Coster-Waldau) – a former mercenary – and his extremely valuable painting, Brown unknowingly risks losing it all, before discovering that Greve is not an easy man to deceive…
This thoroughly engaging action crime-thriller, which examines the fragility of trust, the intoxicating and oppressive nature of materialism in the modern world, and the shifting nature of human identity, is based on Jo Nesbø’s novel of the same name. The story primarily focuses on two fascinating, if tainted, characters, whose paths cross with dire consequences.
When we first meet our protagonist, Roger Brown, he is a distinctly unlikeable, even detestable, man. He is an arrogant criminal of the highest order; an intelligent and well respected thief who hides behind his expensive suits and powerful friends. He’s also neglectful of his wife, Diana (Macody Lund). However, just when we begin to feel like we couldn’t possibly relate to this character, his fears, insecurities, and flaws are manifested through his encounters with Greve, and show us that he has been misguided by society’s increasingly oppressive demands. Unfortunately, Greve doesn’t care, because he has beef with Brown, and he wants to turn the hunter into the hunted!
Grieve is the villain of the piece (although so is Brown, technically) and the epitome of the alpha male. He is relentless in his pursuit of his target and has the cold, clinical traits of a sociopath, as well as the composure, fortitude and endurance of a finely tuned predator. These diverse attributes allow him to easily intimidate Brown, and the audience, which is a rarity in modern cinema, and creates an – almost tangible – on-screen chemistry between the two. There are a couple of incidents that do seem slightly beyond the realms of believability, but they aren’t so out there that they can’t be tolerated, and they do provide some of the more unique, adrenaline fueled moments of excitement and black humour.
If Brown’s engaging character arc and explosive conflicts with Greve are not enough to keep you engrossed, then the frequent and unpredictable plot twists surely will. So, if at all intrigued, do go and watch HEADHUNTERS before Summit Entertainment, who bought the rights for an American remake before it was even released in its country of origin, gives the job to the likes of Michael Bay. You can see the possibilities now: A major re-write that will change the meaning of the entire concept, followed by the swift implementation of a new title; ALIEN HUNTERS. All that would remain would be to recruit the king of the over-adulated, Daniel Craig, to play the lead role, and we would have ourselves yet another meaningless waste of time to add to the heaving pile.
HEADHUNTERS is released in UK theatres on Friday 6th April
