Feature | Lights, Camera, Action! – Kidnapping Freddy Heineken (Movie Review)

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken (UK Rating: 15)

Director Daniel Alfredson has moved away from his native Swedish for this English-speaking drama set mainly in Amsterdam and seems quite at home with the language change. Essentially, it's a kidnapping drama by numbers, but a very workmanlike one, with the benefit of an above average cast. Most obviously, there's Anthony Hopkins as Heineken, a white haired old man with a backbone of steel. After a couple of glimpses of him before and during the kidnap, he eventually turns to face the camera full-on in his cell in a moment that's clearly meant to echo his first appearance in The Silence of the Lambs. Thankfully, he has no taste for fava beans or Chianti.

Thriller fans looking for something high-octane won't find it here, although there is enough tension to hold their attention, and it's helped by an electronic soundtrack with more than a hint of Pink Floyd to reinforce the setting. It's a solid, enjoyable little film and the gang makes good anti-heroes, to the extent that the audience finds itself hoping that they just might get away with it.

6/10

Good

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken is an efficient enough thriller with solid performances, but even the most devout Anthony Hopkins fan would question paying money to see it at the cinema. Better to watch it as a Saturday night DVD when it's released in the summer… with a few beers, of course.