Film Of The Month Headhunters
What’s the story? Headhunters follows a businessman who’s mastered the art of theft but comes unstuck when he picks the wrong mark for his latest con.
What’s it like? Take a hint of BBC1’s Hustle, add a touch of The Thomas Crown Affair and mix with a dash of Enemy Of The State. That gives you a recipe for Headhunters, a super-slick flick that blends the thrills of a heist movie with brilliantly black comedy.
Roger Brown is a top corporate recruiter who’s up to his eyeballs in debt. Even his sideline in art burglary isn’t enough to keep him afloat. The fact that Roger is a nasty, self-centred character with a head as big as Birmingham means we don’t have the slightest bit of sympathy for him. Until he meets his Machiavellian match and his life starts to go down the toilet.
As the action whips along, you’ll soon realise this is no run-of-the-mill man-on-the-run movie. Director Morten Tyldum delivers an insanely stylish big-screen version of author Jo Nesbo’s best-selling book, keeping the pedal to the metal throughout.
OK, so there are some belief-defying moments. But none of that matters because this movie is so crazily entertaining from start to finish that you’ll be too busy enjoying the rollercoaster ride to care about little details. It's crazy, clever and darkly comic.
Flipside says: An absolute blast of a movie.
4 stars
