Easy Money - Feel the Fear

The student JO (Joel Kinnaman) is handsome, charming and moves in well-off circles. His friends don't notice that he actually comes from a rather poor background and can't afford the wild party life with his wealthy fellow students. JO is a perfect phoney, a great actor who keeps up his facade even when he seriously falls in love with the well-off Sophie (Lisa Henni). To keep up appearances, he gets involved in shady deals, which include hiding Jorge (Matias Padin Varela), who has escaped from prison. He wants to get out of Sweden before the police or the Serbian mafia catch him. But to leave the country, Jorge needs money. But a big coke deal could be the perfect solution. It's just too bad that the brutal bagman Mrado (Dragomir Mrsic) is on his tail, too, who is known for carrying out his orders conscientiously. And so it's only a matter of time before JO is also targeted by the gangster.

Easy Money is the gripping film adaptation of the bestseller Spür die Angst by Jens Lapidus and also the start of a planned trilogy. Director Daniél Espinosa has created an atmospheric thriller that builds its arc of suspense slowly, but then tightens the noose all the more forcefully. So the movie actually starts more like a drama before it turns more and more into a gripping gangster thriller. The different story arcs and the convoluted dramaturgy makes it a bit difficult to follow the action and to make all the connections, especially in the first half. But gradually the whole thing fits together like a puzzle and results in the end an extremely coherent and above all exciting overall picture, which once again underpins the good reputation that Nordic thrillers have especially in this country.

Joel Kinnaman is probably the biggest discovery of the film. JO is extremely charismatic and Kinnaman does a first-rate job of showing the willpower with which the student tries to fool his wealthy friends. In the course of the film his character changes visibly. On the one hand he doubts more and more the rightness of his actions. On the other hand, he also puts aside more scruples, which is necessary, as he slides deeper and deeper into criminal circles and soon it's not just about money anymore. But also the other actors are perfectly chosen. Dragomir Mrsic, for example, as Mrado, has to be not only a stone-cold killer but also a loving father - a difficult balance that Mrsic embodies believably. And Matias Padin Varela convincingly manages to show the different facets of Jorge's character. One moment he's an almost loving sidekick who swears eternal friendship to JO. The next moment he mutates into a fearsome thug who seems to know nothing like friendship.

Easy Money is a multi-layered, superbly acted and tightly directed thriller that challenges as well as entertains the audience. The film is tense, brutal and, in its best moments, moving. We can only hope that the success of the bestselling film adaptation will actually materialize, so that we get to see the two planned sequels. Therefore: for fans of demanding gangster movies and the Nordic thrill a la Stieg Larsson Easy Money is absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp