Film Review - What Richard Did

Riverside Studios 26/4/2013
Set in Ireland, this is a tale of the eponymous late teen Richard, sports jock, popular, ambitious and clever, and seemingly with the world at his feet. Richard's world comes undone as a result of a drunken altercation that gets out of hand. In the aftermath of the tragedy, the film goes some towards exploring the implications of the attempted cover up, which weighs heavily on the parties involved, and the issue of his culpability is somewhat glossed over.
The first act takes an awfully long time to set the scene for 'what Richard does', or perhaps it just felt that way because the trailer gives so much away. Unfortunately, charming as he is, Richard does not elicit a great degree of sympathy precisely because his charm and obvious intelligence suggest that he should be above these actions and smart enough to know better. In the end it is his father Peter, played by Lars Mikkelsen, looking much older than in his role as Troels in The Killing, who steals the show and the sympathy of the audience. 3/5

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXTcSCp8R6E

Film review - Easy Money

"You should have seen me when I had finished adjusting my cufflinks" - Joel Kinnaman (middle), Matias Varela (L) and Dragomir Mrsic (R).

Preview at Odeon Covent Garden, 25/4/2013

Joel Kinnaman, previously seen in the US version of The Killing, shines in this hard edged and gritty Swedish crime thriller based on a novel by Jens Lapidus. Kinnaman plays JW, a poor business student who yearns to live like his wealthy classmates in a Stockholm business school and maintains his outwardly glamourous lifestyle on the cheap by living a secret double life as a taxi driver. In the meantime he is on the lookout for a rich girlfriend or business opportunity to provide him with the means to lead the life he craves. He appears to get his big break, but things soon unravel.

He is drawn into the Swedish drug trade by Jorge, played by Matias Varela, and Mrado, played by the bank robber turned actor Vladimir Mrsic. Soon enough the strain of leading a double life begins to tell, and JW begins to realise that he is no longer in control of his own fate. Loyalties are tested to breaking point.

Although it doesn’t entirely resist the melodrama and moralising that blights Nordic noir, the film excels in developing the characters of Jorge and Mrado so that we sympathise with both even as we appreciate their criminal intent. Kinnaman’s performance in particular is superb, his gradual transformation from insecure student to criminal mastermind and down is subtly and masterfully played. Mrado is convincing too, oscillating between sensitive father and menacing heavy. Director Daniel Espinosa never lets the tension slip and the shocking violence, thrills and drama add up to a very good film indeed. 5/5 

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Ms770WTe0