Overview
Upstanding community leader Nils (Stellan Skarsgård) has just won an award for "Citizen of the Year" when he learns the news that his son has died of a heroin overdose. Suspecting foul play, Nils begins to investigate, and soon finds himself at the center of an escalating underworld gang war between Serbian drug dealers and a sociopathic criminal mastermind known only as “The Count.” Hans Petter Moland’s action-thriller is an entertaining and intelligent black comedy set in the dead of frozen Norwegian winter. In English, Norwegian, and Swedish with English subtitles.
Stellan Skarsgård plays snowplow driver Nils, who one day finds out his son has died – seemingly of a drug overdose. But Nils knows his son does not do drugs, yet the local police consider the case closed. A tale of revenge follows…
Skarsgård gets to play a stoic, determined, nothing-can-stop-me-man-on-a-mission, and his natural understated style befits this role very well. Bruno Ganz is also nicely on point in a smaller role as ‘Papa’ – head of the Serbian drug syndicate. The main Norwegian crime lord (Pål Sverre Hagen) isn’t quite as strong unfortunately – and whilst that is also part of the character (he is vegan after all), it still feels like over-acting in various scenes.
Overall, this is most certainly more a dark comedy than an action thriller. Comparisons have been made to Fargo and Pulp Fiction but I don’t think that does those movies justice, nor does it set the right expectations going into seeing Kraftidioten (the original title of ‘In Order of Disappearance’) – I can certainly support the comparisons, but do not choose to watch this expecting a Tarantino or a Coen Brothers movie. It has its own style.
The cinematography is very good and the score does not feel very present but it understatedly supports the viewing experience. The only real weakness I would say is that it is a tad too slow at times, so your attention may start to wander a bit.
But overall quite entertaining, and if you enjoy Scandinavian cinema, this one is worth watching.
