Hodejegerne

Genre-Perversion auf die norwegische Art. Ein Heist, ein Drama über einen Mann, bei dem es Minderwertigkeitskomplexe, Exploatation sowie Thrillercharakter zu sehen gibt ... Tyldum hat sich mit dieser Verbindung nicht so richtig zu helfen gewusst, manchmal ist seine Herangehensweise gar unangenehm fernsehartig und steril, jedoch einige Passagen wirken nahezu göttlich (insbesondere der Abschnitt mit Fekalien und einem Traktor). Nesbo ist sicherlich ein gewandter Autor - die Geschichte sieht zwar mit Absicht langweilig aus, nur um am Ende (im Rahmen der Genregrenzen) mit soliden Wendungen zu überraschen. Diesem Film würden wohl mehr Einsicht und bessere Dialogen gut tun. Denn das Vergnügen, welches er bereitet, watet entlang des Grates guilty pleasure. Aksel Hennie in der Titelrolle ist etwas zwischen Christopher Walken und Steve Buscemi ... seine konzentrierte und glaubhafte Wandlung von einem komplexen Zwerg in einen Mann am Rande der Erschöpfung zwingt mich, dieser uferlosen und regietechnisch seltsamen Verrücktheit 4 * zu geben. (26.10.2011)

It’s been long since two dead fat people were so funny… A perfect Nordic thriller, and, against expectations, it’s not serious or depressing, but a brisk and entertaining film that knows how to make you feel tension, surprise and fun. PS: Plus points for giving a certain animal species the end it deserved (#cantavoidphobia). (10.11.2011)

When you’re only five and a half feet tall, you have to somehow compensate. Roger Brown is a small man who wants to live large and with a tall blonde. While he has to look up to his wife, his mistress looks up to him, but that’s not enough to bolster his ego or, mainly, to build up his bank account. So he makes money on the side. Perfect crimes that leave him unscathed and during the commission of which he leaves no trace of evidence at the crime scenes. Nevertheless, to defend his dubious position as a MAN, he will have no choice but to bathe in the shit (and blood) that he has managed to avoid so far. To walk through the wilderness, throw off the mask of civilisation and undergo the transformation from hunted to hunter. The core of Headhunters is a psychological drama about the crisis of male identity, but that core was rolled up in a thriller and sprinkled with black comedy, with the added bonus that it’s never clear in advance whether the next scene will raise a smile or turn your stomach. The film’s unpredictability (in its handling of genre conventions and the protagonist) is nicely complemented by its uncompromising nature (well, the excessive violence is…simply just excessive) and exaggeration, which, however, is not acknowledged as conspicuously as some situations would require. Sometimes what you expect to happen is funnier than what actually happens. At any rate, there isn’t much time to think about it, thanks to the momentum that Tyldum imparted to the film, during which we don’t lose track of the changes not only on Roger's body, but also inside his head. It’s possible that Nordic genre cinema really is that much better than what Hollywood produces in terms of quality. Appendix: Aksel Hennie is reminiscent of Buscemi and the film itself is reminiscent of Fargo and other movies by the Joel and Ethan Coen (that is, if you wanted to categorise it, but that’s not really possible in this case). 75% (11.11.2011)

Whatever you're expecting… It won’t happen. A genre chameleon about a stunted Walken which proves that Joe Nesbø works well on the film screen despite the plotholes (the age of the corpse one can forgive with half-closed eyes, let's say, but the hospital staff or the one who finds Roger - is it possible that no one would get in touch or ask them after the case was publicized?). (12.02.2012)

Aksel Hennie was born for the role of the slippery Roger and the polished charisma of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau suits the film, but unfortunately, the originality was somewhere else. For every well-constructed idea or bizarre joke, there is also one wasted. I enjoy both the dramatic introduction and the chilling development of the thriller, but in the end, due to some minor simplifications, there is a lack of more satisfying twists. The Jo Nesbø source material has more lightness in it. (12.12.2015)