Jo Nesbø's Headhunters (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 is a human resources manager in a large company and has a wonderful home and a beautiful wife, Dian who owns an art gallery. But he lives in greater luxury than he should. In order to continue this, he has a second job; art theft. Diana introduces him to Clas, a former executive for GPS tech company, who wants to work for Pathfinder, whom Roger is recruiting for. In addition to being the perfect candidate for the job at Roger's company, he is the owner of a very valuable painting. Roger seeks the opportunity and immediately begins to plan his greatest hit. But what Clas encounters in his home will put him in a very difficult way to return.

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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:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

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 (2009), on TV the night Roger comes home late. Also, aerial shots from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) 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 (2009) was digitally replaced with the car Roger Brown drives in this film.

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Goofs

When Roger Brown returns to Oslo after the car crash he is seen calling from a pay phone in Grønland Bussterminal, in the next shot he is seen walking over a bridge towards the bus station.

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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

Features The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Gripping

Skandikrimi ( abb.Scandinavian criminal ) genre may not offer as much titles or shows as their Hollywood counterparts , but when they do it will grip you.

There is something truly terrifying watching a film with a language not your own, but with the ingenous help of subtitles, the viewer is able to follow the story without blinking for a second. The main character is played by Aksel Hennie, whom I have seen in smaller productions and is a truly gifted actor. There are shots that he will remind you of Steve Buscemi, another underrated character actor. But the tempo of this film goes from office gloss to adrenaline-packed brutality. Some scenes will make you want to check their animal welfare credits, as it is realistic painful-looking, also bloody brutal but well-presented.

Knock on wood that it would not be remade. Leave this film as is.

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:

Jo Nesbø's Headhunters

Filming Locations:

Skøyen, Oslo, Norway

Box Office

Budget:

NOK30,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$43,013, 29 April 2012

Gross USA:

$1,200,010

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,962,444

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