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Stockholm starring Ethan Hawke, Mark Strong and Noomi Rapace: One of the More Fun Heist Films Made

Posted on June 24, 2019 Written by Pinar Tarhan

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Stockholm movie starring Ethan Hawke
Image via imdb.com.

 In 1973, Stockholm, Kaj Hansson (Ethan Hawke), supporting long hair, cowboy boots and a bag, enters a bank, pulls out a machine gun and barks orders. He lets all the customers go, only holding a couple of employees hostage.

When he finds out employee Bianca (Noomi Rapace) pushed the silent alarm, he is more pleased than angry. He makes her call the chief of police, and tell him that if the chief doesn’t come to the bank in 10 minutes, he will shoot her in the face.

The chief arrives with a bunch of officers, sets shop upstairs and goes in to talk to Kaj. In addition to some money and guns, Kaj has a strange demand: he wants prisoner/fellow bank robber Gunnar (Mark Strong) freed.

The confused chief begrudgingly agrees, as at this time, he has no reason to believe Kaj won’t hurt the hostages.

But as time passes and Gunnar’s brought in, an interesting dynamic unfolds. It seems that Kaj, while capable of dramatic and seeimingly violent outburts, doesn’t intend to harm or kill anyone. The hostages are really just his ticket to leaving with Gunnar alive, and he even bonds with Bianca further.

Things are never simple in a hostage situation however, as the prime minister won’t allow them to leave with the hostages, and the chief seems more interested in capturing and outsmarting Kaj than the safety of the civilians.

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Stockholm is based on the actual heist in 1973 which is credited for the psychological term Stockholm Syndrome where hostages develop sympathy for their captors.

And Ethan Hawke’s casting couldn’t have been more perfect. He is brilliant as the slightly nutty but well-meaning robber. It’s also not far-fetched that the hostages, especially but not only Bianca, warm up to him. He shares his only piece of fruit with everyone, has brought games to help pass the time, and he is genuinely more interested in keeping everyone alive and reasonably healthy than the chief, several cops and the prime minister.

Yeah, no one wants to be held hostage at gun point, but if you were going to be in that situation, you could do a lot worse than Kaj, especially a Kaj as portrayed by Ethan Hawke. And it’s always a bliss to watch Mark Strong.

Noomi Rapace is slowly turning to one of my favorite actresses. And this is the second time I watched her on the screen where she develops a relationship with guy she really shouldn’t have. (That other movie is called Dead Man Down, and I strongly recommend it.)

Written and directed by Robert Budreau, I definitely recommend this biographic crime comedy.

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Ethan Hawke, heist movie, Mark Strong, Noomi Rapace, Robert Budreau, stockholm movie

Dead Man Down starring Colin Farrell & Noomi Rapace: Solid Action-Drama

Posted on June 27, 2013 Written by ripitup

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colin farrell-dead-man-down
Image via fanpop.com.

Victor (Colin Farrell) is one of the best men working for the gangster Alphonse (Terrence Howard). However Victor does seem to have an agenda – something he is pursuing whenever he isn’t around Alphonse and his men.

Beatrice (Noomi Rapace) is a young woman who lives in the apartment building across him. She has been in a car crash, and her face still shows some of the scars despite reconstructive surgeries. She is being mocked by kids, doesn’t feel “authoritative enough” to go back to her job as a beautician.

Victor says yes, wondering if she has witnessed the murder he committed in his flat. She has, and this is why she asked him out- she has a “business” proposal. Victor can kill the man who caused her accident (and didn’t serve much in prison), and she can forget about the murder. Or she can go the cops.

Victor is obligated to accept, because he is not exactly a cold-blooded killer.

But as Beatrice spends more time with and around Victor (she gives him info on his “target”, and finds excuses to hang around to find out more about him), they start feeling a connection.
And as much as Victor develops feelings for Beatrice, he’s running out of time to take his own revenge on a very large scale; and this will get them both in more danger.

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Dead Man Down is a nice action/drama hybrid that balances drama and action well.

Farrell first appears as any other hired gun. He watches his boss’ back, is cool and composed. But you do sense something is different, and soon it is revelead that he is working for Alphonse (Terrence Howard) for a whole other reason- and this gives us a new perspective on his career, and explains why a “killer” wouldn’t just kill Beatrice and be done with her for good.

Rapace also fleshes Beatrice out. You find yourself identifying with her. You understand why she might start hating so much, and the pain would finally compel her to consider something so drastic. And frankly, while I wouldn’t go as far as comtemplating murder, I think I’d have made sure the drunk (who ran me over without any punishments and messed up my joy of life, health and confidence) ended up beaten up pretty badly or something. And because she is in a dark state of mind, she has the balls to ask a “killer” out, and makes her threat without taking precautions. If he went nuts and killed her right there and then, she wouldn’t have minded terribly.

But as they give each other more moments to smile about, the attraction grows.

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I’ll admit that I was positively biased before watching this. I love a good revenge story based on the loss of a loved one. I love that they didn’t go that way for Rapace’s character, but her acting and psychology enables us to empathize at one leve or another. I also like the cast, and I was sold from the trailer.

Add a well-shot, well-acted full feature with a decent soundtrack, and well, I already saw Dead Man Down twice, enjoying it even more the second time. Through a second viewing, character actions and motivations make even more sense.

While some viewers didn’t find the cruel kids’ reaction to Beatrice (calling her a monster, throwning stones at her) not realistic, they should remember that some kids, like people, can be cruel for the most superficial of all reasons- and they should be happy they haven’t been exposed to such behaviour. Those viewers should also watch Mads Mikkelsen’s The Hunt. Sometimes kids can do scary, unimaginable things…

Dead Man Down has entered the list of favorite revenge movies, and it looks like it’ll remain there. 5 other revenge movies I really love are on covered on this post: 5 Awesome Revenge Movies feat. Gerard Butler, Kevin Bacon, Antonio Banderas, Brandon Lee and Mel Gibson.

 
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Also on Colin Farrell:

The Recruit starring Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynahan

 Pride and Glory review – starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell

London Boulevard starring Colin Farrell & Keira Knightley

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Colin Farrell, colin farrell dead man down, Dead Man Down, Dead Man Down cast, Dead Man Down movie, Dead Man Down movie plot, Dead Man Down movie review, Noomi Rapace, noomi rapace dead man down, Terrence Howard

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