Review by
Eric Hillis
Directed by: Frederik Louis Hviid
Starring: Gustav Giese, Reda Kateb, Amanda Collin
You can tell a lot about a nation by its heist movies. British capers
usually expect us to root for the criminals and possess an
anti-authoritarian streak, with cheeky chappy working class heroes
striking back at the establishment. American heist thrillers tend to be
more moralistic, usually ultimately siding with law and order and
portraying the criminals as trigger-happy sociopaths. France's heist
movies usually focus on the mechanics of the heist itself, highlighting
the ingenuity and professionalism of the men involved.
I'm not sure what The Quiet Ones (the title a reference to unmarked bills) says about Denmark, as
it features elements of all three of the aforementioned regional
variations. Set during the financial crash of 2008, it features working
class men striking against the system, but they have more in common with
the ruthless crims of Reservoir Dogs than the loveable cockney rogues of The Italian Job. Like its Gallic cousins, The Quiet Ones focusses heavily on how the heist is pulled off and gives us a
quiet and thoughtful anti-hero straight out of a Melville thriller, but
the execution of the robbery is a far cry from the studied silence
of Rififi or Le Cercle Rouge, employing as much blunt force as brain power.
Director Frederik Louis Hviid's first solo feature (he
previously co-directed the gritty John Carpenter-influenced
thriller Shorta) is inspired by the true story of a 2008 heist that made history in
Denmark due to the record breaking amount of cash that was plundered. As
a result it doesn't quite play out as smoothly as a purely fictional
crime thriller might, and the ambiguous ending might prove frustrating
to some viewers who require everything to be neatly tied up when the
credits roll. But its characters are very much of the pulp fiction
variety, its two leads falling into the classic templates of the
reluctant robber who just wants to make one big score to support his
family and the sadistic career criminal who will happily kill anyone who
gets in his way.
The latter is Slimani (Reda Kateb), and we're immediately given
an example of just how ruthless he is when we witness him execute two
armoured car drivers during a botched robbery in Sweden. Meanwhile in
Copenhagen we're introduced to two figures on opposite sides of the law,
but equally beleaguered. Scar-faced but impossibly handsome and
chiselled, Kasper (Gustav Giese) is a promising boxer who hopes
success in the ring will allow him to escape his criminal past and
provide a good life for his wife and their young daughter. Frustrated
security guard Maria (Amanda Collin) desperately wants to be a
cop, but while acing the physical side of a police entrance exam, she
fluffs an interview by giving a smartass answer to what she views as a
dumb question.
Kasper's ambitions of going straight come to an end when his
brother-in-law introduces him to Slimani, now in Copenhagen and planning
a new operation. Kasper initially agrees to help with the planning but
refuses to get involved in the actual heist, but the smirking Slimani
knows he'll eventually change his mind. The plan is to raid a
cash-handling centre known for its lax security, but when another gang
beats them to it Slimani pulls the plug, figuring the building will now
be under heavy scrutiny. Kasper doesn't want to give up so easily and
comes up with an ambitious but ingenious plan involving blocking
Copenhagen's armed SWAT unit from responding by blocking key roads with
garbage trucks. To pull it off, Slimani and Kasper will need to assemble
a large crew, and when Slimani hires a group of unstable and violent
Swedish gangsters, Kasper must now worry not only about whether he can
pull off the job, but also if he can prevent anyone from getting
killed.
Hviid and writer Anders Frithiof August pull off an
impressive balancing act of keeping the drama grounded enough to avoid
veering too far from its factual roots while injecting enough dramatic
elements to ensure we're involved beyond merely watching the process
play out. In Kasper we're given a figure we can root for: even if we
don't exactly like him, we can understand his motivations. A punch drunk
loser who desperately wants to do something to restore his pride, Kasper
becomes obsessed with the idea of proving his worth by making history
and stealing more than the rival gang who got there first. During the
heist, Kasper puts himself at risk by staying longer than planned to
fill a bag with small notes, just in case their worth might prove enough
to tip his heist from just another robbery to one that will go down in
history.
Slimani on the other hand has no such ambition. He seems inspired
purely by the thrill of being a bad man, readily admitting that he
expects to ultimately be caught. Through Slimani, the film reminds us
that the men who commit crimes like this are far from romantic Robin
Hood figures. Slimani seems to enjoy violence, with women often his
victims, whether it's the armoured car driver he coldly executes in the
opening sequence or his long-suffering girlfriend, whom he almost drowns
in her kitchen sink when she dares to question his way of making a
living.
Slimani's violent misogyny puts us on edge for Maria. Like Kasper, she
has a desperation to prove herself and her stubborn heroic streak will
inevitably set her on a confrontational path with the criminals. Of the
three key figures, Maria however is the one who feels the least
developed, and she exists mostly to throw a late spanner in the works
and to provide a mirror of Kasper, reflected literally in a clever late
visual reveal.
But as much as its characters, it's the process that keeps us invested
here. Though it's far more explosive than the quiet lock-picking of a
Melville thriller, revolving chiefly around whether a concrete wall can
be knocked down by a JCB, the heist is portrayed in meticulous detail.
Even though we know that Kasper aside, these men are the very definition
of wrong 'uns, we become victims of cinematic Stockholm syndrome,
gasping when it seems something might go wrong.
The ambiguous ending necessitated by its basis in reality leaves us
asking whether crime really does pay. Some of these men are left broken
and battered, others imprisoned, while others have gotten what they
wanted, or at least what they thought they wanted. For those involved
that aspired to become underworld legends, the existence of The Quiet Ones means they ultimately succeeded in their goal, but they may not
like how they're portrayed.
The Quiet Ones is in US
cinemas and on VOD from February 21st. A UK/ROI release has yet to be
announced.
