Hodejegerne (2011)

An accomplished headhunter risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary.

Director:

Morten Tyldum

Writers:

Lars Gudmestad, Jo Nesbø (novel),

Stars:

Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Synnøve Macody Lund

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aksel Hennie	...	Roger Brown
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Clas Greve
Synnøve Macody Lund	...	Diana Brown
Eivind Sander	...	Ove Kjikerud
Julie R. Ølgaard	...	Lotte (as Julie Ølgaard)
Kyrre Haugen Sydness	...	Jeremias Lander
Valentina Alexeeva	...	Natasja
Reidar Sørensen	...	Brede Sperre
Nils Jørgen Kaalstad	...	Stig
Joachim Rafaelsen	...	Brugd
Mats Mogeland	...	Sunded
Gunnar Skramstad Johnsen	...	Monsen 1
Lars Skramstad Johnsen	...	Monsen 2
Signe Tynning	...	Morning Show Hostess
Nils Gunnar Lie	...	Morning Show Host

Storyline

Roger Brown works as one of the most powerful headhunters in Norway. To support his extravagant lifestyle, he is also an art thief, which he does in cahoots with his friend, the gun toting Ove Kjikerud. They replace the originals with forgeries, which go undetected at least until the trail back to the thieves goes cold. His outward bravado, based primarily on building upon reputation, masks his insecurities, especially in his short physical stature. He feels he needs that confident demeanor and wealth to get what he wants, including his trophy wife, art gallery owner Diana Brown. However, he almost seems to like the thought of what Diana represents more than Diana herself. As such, he has a mistress on the side named Lotte. The issue of having a baby - Diana wants to get pregnant while Roger doesn't want her to - is another bone of contention in their marriage. The two sides of Roger's professional life intersect when Diana introduces him to Clas Greve, who would be perfect for the ...

---

Plot Keywords:

painting | headhunter | art | gun | art gallery | 

---

Taglines:

The hunt is on.

---

Genres:

Crime | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for bloody violence including some grisly images, strong sexual content and nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Norway Germany

Language:

Norwegian Danish Russian English

Release Date:

26 August 2011 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Headhunters

Filming Locations:

Oslo, Norway

Box Office

Budget:

NOK 30,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$43,013 (USA) (27 April 2012)

Gross:

$1,196,752 (USA) (10 August 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Friland, Yellow Bird Films, Nordisk Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (5.1 surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film features several references and tributes to Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy. Diana watches the second film from the trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire, on TV the night Roger comes home late. Also, aerial shots from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo were used to fill in some missing scenes. One of the clips features a car driving over a bridge. The car from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was digitally replaced with the car Roger Brown drives in this film.

---

Goofs

The empty bullet casings in the final shootout are much too large to have come from either gun fired. They appear to be rifle shells.

---

Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Best and Worst Movies of 2012 (2013)

---

Soundtracks

"Come Arround"
Written by Goran Obad & Henrik Skram

User Reviews

The cut-throat world of Norwegian recruitment consultancy...

Touted as the next Stieg Larsson (or if you prefer, Norway's answer to Sweden's other major literary export, Henning Mankell), Jo Nesbo's Headhunters had already been earmarked for a (no doubt inferior) US remake before it was even released overseas.

Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie) is a 168cm recruitment consultant with a big house, a beautiful wife and an inferiority complex that drives him to moonlight as an art thief. The prosaically named protagonist is no Thomas Crown - he steals to keep a (wildly overleveraged) roof over his head and only pockets a measly 30% of the revenue from his ill-gotten gains. Even his appearance is counterintuitive - more bug eyed Steve Buscemi than suited and booted Bond. Even so, there's more going on here than meets the eye, but suffice to say that his real troubles start when he decides to go after The Big One - the retirement score that will put an end to his financial troubles and allow him to keep his ridiculously attractive wife in the style to which he's become accustomed.

To say anything more about the plot would be superfluous, but I will take a moment to admire the confidence of the director Morten Tyldum. Headhunters is, in a sense, typically Scandinavian - stark, brooding and with as much silence as dialogue. The style here serves the substance - the camera is often completely immobile, forcing the audience to concentrate on what's going on, a complete contrast to the craftsmanship/gimmickry more typical of glossy mainstream thrillers coming out of the US. Rather than spoonfeeding the audience every single clue, Headhunters isn't afraid to lead the unwitting watcher on a merry dance. Naturally the whole enterprise rests on the small but perfectly formed cast, particularly Hennie, with whom we slowly come to empathise, and the more typically suave Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau as the former exec with a murky past.

If Headhunters has a particular weakness, it's that it spends most of its time descending into increasingly dark (and occasionally graphically violent) territory, while occasionally veering into light hearted caper. This does feel slightly bewildering, but to be honest, it's a relative minor criticism. Headhunters is definitely worth catching (particularly given the woefully slim pickings over the past few months), if not now, then 6 months from now when it premieres on Film Four in the middle of the night. Scandinavians (and cinéastes with a penchant for Northern European film) may be used to this kind of thing, but for the rest of us it's a wonderfully welcome arctic blast through the land's tat filled cinema screens.