Most write-ups of Headhunters sound the same, because no reviewer with any respect for the
reader wants to give too much away. The film is one of those rare thrillers that rivets viewers to
their seats wondering what will happen next, but it does so the hard way, eschewing
arbitrary "twists" and driving events from an internal logic that's been carefully worked out, even
as the plot becomes so surreal that you're sure it's a dream. It's a tricky high-wire act that
requires precision work from everyone involved.
Headhunters began as a novel by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø, who also happens to be the
vocalist and songwriter for a successful rock band, Di Derre. Nesbø is best known for his
detective fiction featuring a tough investigator named Harry Hole and his children's books
centered on a quirky character known as Doktor Proktor, but the novel that became Headhunters
was a standalone creation published in 2008. The film adaptation was produced by Yellow Bird,
the same company that turned Stieg Larsson's Dragon Tattoo novels into enormously successful
Swedish films. It opened to great acclaim in Europe in 2011, followed by a successful limited
U.S. run in 2012.
The film's lead character is Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie), who is Norway's most successful
executive recruiter. As Roger informs us in voiceover, he is 5' 6" tall and constantly feels the
need to compensate for his lack of height. To this end, he has married a classically statutesque
Nordic blonde, Diana (Synnøve Macody Lund), whom he deeply loves, but perpetually fears
losing. The biggest—really, the only—source of marital discord is that Diana wants children and
Roger doesn't. To distract Diana from the issue, Roger routinely buys her expensive gifts he
can't afford, and they live in a lavish house much bigger than they need, on which he can't
maintain the payments, despite his successful practice placing top candidates with large multi-national companies.
So, like many people who need extra money, Roger moonlights . . . as an art thief. In
Headhunters' crisply edited opening scenes, Roger demonstrates his carefully honed technique
for slipping into a private residence, exchanging a valuable artwork for a copy good enough to go
unnoticed for an extended period of time, then slipping out again without a trace, all in less than
ten minutes. The entire scam depends on a close partnership with an eccentric (and that's putting
it mildly) named Ove Kjikerud (Eivind Sander), who works for the security company that seems
to have cornered the market on home burglar alarms. From company headquarters, Ove
deactivates the security system just long enough for Roger to perform the swap, after which Ove
deletes all traces of his activity from the master computer. Then Ove drives the stolen goods to
the fence in Sweden, while Roger goes home to Diana.
Roger governs his dangerous double life by rigorous discipline. When his mistress, Lotte (Julie
R. Ølgaard), breaks his rule about not mentioning their relationship to a single soul, Roger ends
the relationship that very moment. In his recruiting efforts, he politely but firmly directs
applicants how to behave. A candidate for a CEO position, Lander (Kyrre Haugen Sydness), has
made himself appear too eager for the job. He will certainly be offered the position, but Roger
orders him to decline. Why? asks a mystified Lander. Because, explains Roger, that will make
you more desirable, and I stake my reputation that I will get you a better deal. "Reputation" is the
quality that unites Roger's two worlds; it's an artist's reputation that makes a painting valuable, a
CEO's reputation that gets him a job and a headhunter's reputation that enables him to deliver
results.
Roger's undoing comes when he's offered two great opportunities (one for each of his
"professions") in the same package. At a party to celebrate the opening of Diana's new art
gallery, which is Roger's latest gift to his wife, he meets a tall, handsome recent transplant to Norway named Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau,
best known here from Game of Thrones). A former top executive of a Dutch company who decided to retire early, Greve is finding that
he misses the action. When he and Roger meet, they recognize a mutual interest and agree to have lunch. Of
even greater interest to Roger is something that Greve has told Diana: He owns a valuable
painting by Rubens, which he inherited from his grandmother. He keeps it in his apartment.
Roger now begins a process he believes he has thoroughly mastered, but from the moment he
enters Greve's apartment, he has stepped through the looking glass. As one bizarre event follows
another, Askel Hennie gives a stunning performance of an intelligent and resourceful individual
who can't quite understand how he lost control of everything but is so desperate to regain it that
he will do anything (and I do mean anything). Be warned that later portions of this film are not
for the young or the faint of heart. The neat Scandinavian lines and tidy surfaces of the opening
scenes only serve to highlight the unholy mess into which Headhunters ultimately descends. To
see where it ends up, you'll have to watch the film.
In the documentary included on the disc, cinematographer John Andreas Andersen speaks of his
aspiration to make Headhunters look like a major American film, while remaining within a
typically modest Norwegian production budget. The extent of his success can be appreciated on
Magnolia's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray, which provides a beautifully detailed image of such
crystalline clarity that one could almost swear that Headhunters was shot digitally. However, all
available sources indicate that the film was shot on 35mm stock, then processed (heavily) on a
digital intermediate. The result is a stylized, refined image that has been so manipulated in
post-production that you have to look very closely to detect traces of the film's original grain
structure.
Headhunters' color palette favors chilly blues, grays and whites and desaturates most other
colors, especially reds and browns. Norway is a cold country, and the people of Headhunters are
coldly calculating individuals (well, most of them). Blacks are deep, and different levels of black
are well-differentiated. The path to Blu-ray must have been direct from digital files, because
there isn't a hint of any artifact from an analog stage, nor were there any issues with
compression. Nothing gets between you and what's happening on screen, although you may
occasionally wish that some of the things you're being shown were a little less clear. (The
screenshots accompanying this review have been carefully selected to avoid revealing anything.)
Of the two available DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks, I listened only to the original Norwegian, with
English subtitles engaged. Although all of the dialogue and effects are confined to the front
soundstage, it would be inaccurate to describe the mix as "front-centered". From the very
opening, the impressively moody score by Trond Bjerknes and Jeppe Kaas spreads out into the
entire surround array, enveloping the listener in its foreboding strains. This is one of the most
aggressive uses of a film score that I have encountered in some time, but it's effective, because
the score suits the action so well that it becomes the equivalent of an additional character. The
track has very good dynamic range, and key effects, which I won't identify because of spoilers,
register with appropriate impact.
Behind the Scenes of Headhunters (SD; 1.78:1, enhanced; 22:39): This is an
informative documentary featuring both interviews and footage on location. It contains
numerous spoilers and should not be viewed until after watching the movie. Director
Morten Tyldum, cinematographer Andersen, screenwriter Lars Gudmestad and producers
Asle Vatn and Marianne Gray all discuss their various efforts in creating the film. Actors
Hennie, Coster-Waldau and Lund (who had never acted before) discuss their characters
and how they approached their portrayals. In Norwegian, with English subtitles.
Trailer (HD, 1080p; 2.35:1; 2:08): Clearly made for the American market, this shows too
much for my taste, but it helps that it's all out of context. With English narration and
subtitled Norwegian dialogue.
Also from Magnolia (HD, 1080p). Additional trailers.
Some viewers live to find "plot holes" in movies, and Headhunters isn't immune. Every good
story depends on a certain degree of chance and coincidence. (So does life, for that matter.) The
test of a thriller isn't whether every last detail is accounted for, but whether it successfully pulls
you into its machinery and holds you there for the duration. Among the key elements required for
such a feat are a director with a vision, a story you can't get out in front of, an editor with a
clever sense of rhythm and a lead actor who's able to engage the viewer's interest and,
ultimately, sympathy. Headhunters has all that and much more. Highly recommended.
