Mikes Film Talk

The 2011 dark comedy thriller Headhunters might be all about a protagonist who suffers from “short man attitude.” At a meer 5′ 6” Roger Brown does exhibit a “bigger than life” persona.

About the movie

At the risk of sounding like an old Carlsberg lager advert, Headhunters is probably the best film adaptation of a book, ever. It offers a screenplay by Lars Gudmestad and Ulf Ryberg. Based on the book by Jo Nesbo and directed by Morten Tyldum, Headhunters is a thriller. It is one of the highest order with more than capable acting from all involved.

About the cast

The film stars Aksel Hennie as the 1.68 metre hero Roger Brown.  Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the Dutchman Clas Greve. * If ever there was a man born to play Resident Evil’s Leon Kennedy it’s Nikolaj. He looks like he’s stepped right out of Resi 4 or Resi 6. Nikolaj is perhaps better known for his work on Game of Thrones.

The two female leads in the film are Synnøve Macody Lund as Diana Brown.  Julie R. Ølgaard is the scheming Lotte. Synnøve is not an actress by profession, she’s a journalist. This is her first film and she acquits herself very well. In short, she is amazing.

I first saw Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the 1994 Norwegian film Nightwatch. This has been remade as a vehicle for Ewan McGregor. McGregor works  with Nikolaj in 2001’s Blackhawk Down. Both actors display similar virtues in their work. Each actor have a subtlety and awareness that enhance their performances and make them stand out in a film.

For those of you who have read Jo Nesbo’s brilliant book, you will know the plot already. If you have not had the pleasure of reading Headhunters? I suggest you rush down to your local bookseller or library and do so. In the mean time, you will have to follow my recitation of the plot.

The story

Roger Brown is one of Norway’s best headhunters. Diana is his wife. They live a lavish lifestyle. One well above his salary. To supplement this lifestyle, he steals valuable art work. He then sells them with the help of his partner in crime. One Ove Kijkerud, played with a certain comic deviousness by Eivind Sander. Who looks maddeningly familiar to me. Despite Roger’s supplemental income, he’s running low on financial resources. Diana is also desperate for a child after seven years of marriage.

While attending his wife’s art gallery opening he meets Clas Greve via an introduction by Diana. Roger discovers that Clas, the ex-CEO of a multimillion dollar GPS company has a priceless painting in his possession. He would be perfect for Roger’s current client Pathfinder. A Norwegian GPS company searching for a new CEO.

Roger (with the aid of Ove) breaks into Clas’s flat to steal the painting. Once there he finds Diana’s mobile (cell) phone in the bedroom. The next time he sees Clas, he tells him that the company is still interviewing candidates. He then tells Diana that he will not be recommending Clas for the job.

Death becomes him

We see Ove going to Roger’s house to presumably pick up the painting. The next morning Roger goes to his garage to get in his car to drive to work. He discovers Ove apparently dead in the front seat of his car. Panicking, Roger shoves Ove into the boot (trunk) of his car.

Roger takes Ove’s body to a lake and fills the body’s pockets with stones and rolls Ove into the lake. As Roger sits on the lake shore catching his breath, Ove suddenly appears gasping for his breath. He then sinks under the water again. Roger jumps in and drags Ove out and takes him to his house.

Ove tries to shoot Roger. He is shot for his trouble. Roger’s life had become a scary cat and mouse game with him as the mouse. Clas will not stop until he has killed Roger.

Headhunters works

The locations are beautiful and the cinematography is superb. Despite the “creative license” taken with the book, the film works. It also manages to crank the suspense up just as effectively as the novel itself did. You still find yourself second guessing. Because certain things were changed in the film, you hold your breath at the end. Mainly in case it doesn’t turn out how you expected it to.

Askel does a brilliant job as Roger Brown, the short man with attitude. He seemed to me (looks wise) to be an odd cross between Christopher Walken and David Hemmings. His acting is spot on, morphing effortlessly from over-confident prig to terrified victim, to desperate fighter. He rang all the changes necessary to sell his character.

Nikolaj has always made me think of Sean Bean. They could almost be brothers, and he has not disappointed me yet in anything I’ve seen him in.The film can be viewed in Norwegian with English subtitles and I would highly recommend viewing it that way. It is very rare that dubbed versions are as enjoyable as the original language version. I always feel that a huge amount is lost by having another actor voice the lines.

the verdict

I would give Headhunters a whopping 5 out of 5 stars. This is available to stream on Pluto, Tubi and Plex, as well as other streaming channels. Head on over and catch this one.

the trailer