Nils (Stellan Skarsgård), the unsuspecting Norway plowman comes to mingle with a local drug cartel fray under the parameters of his sons mistaken murder. This crime-comedy led a perhaps mediocre plot line, but under a pleasantly refreshing re-contextualisation on a Norwegian peninsula with a healthy few plot twists to keep the average viewer interested, it just about made the cut.
At times, the films suspense was announced but never held, the characters never had depth deeper than a 2 ft barge-pole, but, if anything, it only served to fuel the frostbite satire that accompanied the likes of Greven (Pål Sverre Hagen)'s novel and quirky gangster portrayal. The film generally encompassed a repackaged 'gangster' turf war, the only difference was that the turf was permafrost and 'sleeping with the fishes' meant being wrapped in chicken wire and cast from a waterfall adorned cliff. You can figure that one out. The redeeming qualities perhaps were felt most strongly in characters such as Wingman, (Peter Andersson), Greven and Marit (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen), all of which I saw to have exceptionally well acted scenes and humour. The relationship between Marit and Greven seemed antagonistic and tense while also having that undying love-hate/comedic spin-off that gave it the originality to separate from the generic flick relationship. It reminded me distinctively of the 'Wolf of Wall St' with the tormented criminal reluctantly unearthing his criminal underbelly to the burning light of his 'normal' life.
Overall, the film seemed to escape the dreaded mediocrity, however, the balance tipped out of its favour in the latter scenes where the pacing became skewed and misinformed. On top of this the plot line seemed to be scarred by that 'I've seen this type before' type of thought. This is compensated by good acting, a solid script and a refreshing setting. Overall, probably worth a watch if you want to escape Hollywood to catch your breath.
At times, the films suspense was announced but never held, the characters never had depth deeper than a 2 ft barge-pole, but, if anything, it only served to fuel the frostbite satire that accompanied the likes of Greven (Pål Sverre Hagen)'s novel and quirky gangster portrayal. The film generally encompassed a repackaged 'gangster' turf war, the only difference was that the turf was permafrost and 'sleeping with the fishes' meant being wrapped in chicken wire and cast from a waterfall adorned cliff. You can figure that one out. The redeeming qualities perhaps were felt most strongly in characters such as Wingman, (Peter Andersson), Greven and Marit (Birgitte Hjort Sørensen), all of which I saw to have exceptionally well acted scenes and humour. The relationship between Marit and Greven seemed antagonistic and tense while also having that undying love-hate/comedic spin-off that gave it the originality to separate from the generic flick relationship. It reminded me distinctively of the 'Wolf of Wall St' with the tormented criminal reluctantly unearthing his criminal underbelly to the burning light of his 'normal' life.
Overall, the film seemed to escape the dreaded mediocrity, however, the balance tipped out of its favour in the latter scenes where the pacing became skewed and misinformed. On top of this the plot line seemed to be scarred by that 'I've seen this type before' type of thought. This is compensated by good acting, a solid script and a refreshing setting. Overall, probably worth a watch if you want to escape Hollywood to catch your breath.