Headhunters

"Headhunters" is a strong mix of a thriller, dark comedy and a heist film with just a touch of a touching love story. It's a very smart movie that doesn't slow down to repeat itself so if you're not ready to pay attention, take a nap and then go see it once you're wide awake. It’s a Norwegian film about Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie), a headhunter. No, not some barbarian that goes around cutting heads, a man whose job is to find the right candidate for big companies looking for CEOs and that sort of thing. What people don’t know is that he supplements his income by stealing rare art from the wealthy people he interviews. He finds out all about their tastes, sets them up for a long interview out of town and while they’re away, he breaks in, replaces the real paintings with elaborate forgeries and sells them off to shower his wife Diana (Synnøve Macody Lund) with gifts. She has no idea, which means when he steals from the wrong guy, he’s out on his own.

The protagonist is an original, compelling character that's a lot of fun to follow as he gets in way over his head. This poor guy bites off so much more than he can chew that it becomes the source of a lot of laughs, but there is a genuine threat that he is not going to make it out alive, so you’re always on edge. There are a lot of surprises and some good twists mixed in with the black humour. I don’t know what it is about the foreign films I happen to catch, but they always seem to take so many more chances than the North American films I’m used to seeing. There is a car crash in this movie that is extremely intense and followed by a moment that is more frightening than a lot of horror films I’ve witnessed. The fact that it's subtitled might turn you off but you would be missing out on an incredibly entertaining film so give it a shot. My one criticism is that towards the end there are a few of the elements that seem to come up a little bit too conveniently but it will get your heart pumping and you'll be thoroughly pleased. (Original dub with subtitles on the big screen, July 17, 2012)