HEADHUNTERS – Fantastic Fest Review

In true Norwegian fashion, HEADHUNTERS is a taught thriller that pleases from the first to the last frame. Director Morten Tyldum (FALLEN ANGELS) weaves an intoxicating mystery that begins as a heist film. Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie) is a man of short stature with a large house and a towering beauty of a Swedish trophy wife named Diana (Synnove Macody Lund), as intelligent as she is stunning. What she doesn’t know is that Roger is not everything he appears to be.

Roger spends his days working as a successful corporate recruiter, a fitting cover for a man whose greatest skill is “knowing” people, but he supplements his lavish lifestyle by moonlighting as a thief, specializing in valuable works of art. Everything Roger does is to please Diana, so when the opportunity of a lifetime reveals itself, he sees the job that will end all jobs, but it begins with getting his mark a job.

Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is an ex-military special ops soldier turned CEO of a major GPS nanotechnology developer. Recently having entered early retirement, Roger meets Clas at the opening reception for Diana’s gallery. Upon hearing about a priceless work of art that Clas possesses, Roger immediately begins developing a plan to relieve Clas of the artwork and set himself and Diana up for life, which Roger sees as the only way to truly secure his most prized possession. Unfortunately, despite Roger’s very careful and competent thieving skills and his attention to detail, what lies in store for him is far beyond his expectations and risk assessment.

HEAD HUNTERS is a methodical, calculated thriller that takes great care in setting up the dominoes in just the precise manner, intricately positioned for maximum fallout. Roger leads the audience through his every step, his motives and his methodology, seamlessly allowing the viewer into his life without disturbing the all-important third wall. It’s rare that we get to empathize with a criminal, but Roger’s motives are as honorable as they are selfish.

As is often the case with Norwegian films, especially of this genre, HEADHUNTERS is beautifully shot with a cold, post-modern sensibility. Roger’s house is a rigidly designed array of juxtaposed boxes that compliments the compartmentalized life he leads. Roger is calm, cool and in control while the supporting characters around him appear very much the opposite, from a seemingly desperate Lotte (Julie R. Olgaard) with whom Roger has an affair to the wild and reckless Ove (Eivind Sander), with whom Roger works on his moonlighting venture through a strategic partnership.

What we witness in HEADHUNTERS is the transformation of Roger from a well-disguised man living in fear to a strong and determined man born of the need to fight for survival. We witness Roger transform before our eyes, pushed to the extreme before he realizes what’s truly important and how vain and superficial his life has been prior to meeting Clas Greve.

Clas is a great antagonist, emotionless and precise, like a well-oiled machine with a clear purpose, but able to conceal himself in plain sight. I couldn’t help but notice a resemblance of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau to Josh Holloway from TV’s LOST, which I felt oddly added to the appeal of the character. Clearly this was unintentional, but every little bit helps. When it boils down to the essence of what makes HEADHUNTERS tick, it’s a lack of clearly defined good guys and bad guys. The story is ultimately a tale of misguided intentions and confusion in the face of well-laid plans. The tension between Roger and Clas is built upon a principle of two masters of their craft in a race to finish first, but the confusion arises from Roger reacting to misinformation and assuming a false conclusion.

HEADHUNTERS is a lot of fun, with some dark humor and brutal moments, all wrapped up into a true nail-biter. Aksel Hennie is excellent, showing an impressive range as his character is drug through the ringer on so many levels. I imagine HEADHUNTERS will surely be swallowed up by the Hollywood remake machine, if it hasn’t already, but the original is definitely worthy of your time.