Hodejegerne (2011)

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

Director:

Morten Tyldum

Writers:

Ulf Ryberg (screenplay), Lars Gudmestad (screenplay)

Stars:

Aksel Hennie, Synnøve Macody Lund, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aksel Hennie	...	Roger
Synnøve Macody Lund	...	Diana
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Clas Greve
Eivind Sander	...	Ove Kjikerud
Julie R. Ølgaard	...	Lotte (as Julie Ølgaard)
Kyrre Haugen Sydness	...	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	...	TV-vertinne
Nils Gunnar Lie	...	TV-vert

Storyline

Roger Brown an Executive Headhunter and a part-time high end painting thief finds himself embroiled in a cat and mouse game when he tries to destroy Clas Greve's career prospects. However, Clas is a former member of a special tactical military force and will stop at nothing to ensure Roger is out of the picture and the job is his.

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Plot Keywords:

male star appears nude | killing a dog | painting | norway | art thief | 

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Taglines:

From the bestselling author of 'The Snowman'

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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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 Sweden Denmark Germany

Language:

Norwegian Danish Russian English

Release Date:

26 August 2011 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Headhunters

Filming Locations:

Skøyen, Oslo, Norway

Box Office

Budget:

NOK 30,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$1,690,000 (Norway), 26 August 2011, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$43,013, 29 April 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,196,752, 12 August 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yellow Bird, Friland, Nordisk Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Claes Greve was Norwegian in the original novel. His nationality was changed to Danish in the film to accommodate the casting of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

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Goofs

After Roger Brown has pulled Ove from the lake and they both are in the car, driving to Ove's place, Ove is still dizzy and disoriented and keeps falling on Roger's shoulder. At one point, Roger pushes him away, Ove pukes a little, and then you see a hand pat Ove on the shoulder. That hand came from back seat, and doesn't belong to either Roger or Ove.

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Quotes

[First lines]
Roger: Rule #1: Make sure you know everything about those you visit. 2: Never spend more than 10 minutes. Every extra minute increases the chance of someone returning home unexpectedly. 3: Do not leave DNA traces. 4: Don't waste time getting an expensive reproduction. Even a simple forgery will go unnoticed for weeks. 5: Sooner or later, one of two things will happen. You find a work of art so valuable that you never need to worry again, or... you'll get caught.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

Weathervane
Performed by Weathervane (Jimmy Gnecco & Pål Waaktaar)
Lyrics by Pål Waaktaar

User Reviews

You rarely get a movie this good

Wow. It has been a long time since I've seen a movie this good. The movie tells the story of Roger Brown, a headhunter who also has a side job as an art thief. His latest job goes wrong and things get out of control from there on. If I give any more of the plot, I will spoil the movie for you. And trust me, you don't want that. A big part of what I enjoyed about the movie is watching how crazy things go for Roger.

Apart from the very intelligent story, what really makes the film standout is the character development, especially for the main character Roger Brown played excellently by Aksel Hennie. You start of seeing him one way, but by the end of the movie, your perception of him will definitely change. He goes through a lot (and I mean A LOT) in the movie. While watching the movie I kept thinking, "Man, give this guy a break". The intelligent story has a whole lot of heart as well.

The acting was top notch from the 2 main actors, Aksel Hennie and Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau (who you may know as Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones). Synnøve Macody Lund who play Roger's wife Diana is beautifully good too. I hope she gets more prominent roles after this.

This is one movie you shouldn't miss. There's a Hollywood version in the making but it would be very hard top this original.