Not to be confused with the Rodney Dangerfield comedy of the same name...Easy Money is a new thriller by Daniel Espinosa who previously directed Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington in Safe House. It follows Jorge (Matias Valera)-an escaped prisoner on the run who is being looked upon by Johan (Joel Kinniman)-a man trying to gain a little extra cash by becoming a drug runner. Meanwhile-Mrado (Dragomir Mrsic) is on the hunt for Jorge.
These three men get entangled in a web of lies and danger. Perhaps I shouldn't say a web...I should say a plethora. All three men do not know who to trust...they can't even trust their family. Even Lovisa (Lea Stojanov)-Mrado's 8 year old daughter is a threat simply because she's an easy target. Easy Money is similar in tone, style and quality to another foreign thriller this year-Headhunters. Both are perfectly acted, directed, written and do not rely on heavy violence at all. In Roger Ebert's review of Headhunters..he wrote "violence is boring." I could not agree more with this statement which is why I love both of these films (Ebert, I know loved Headhunters.)
I'm comparing too much..so back to the film at hand. The film is very slow burn in its storytelling. It takes its time and builds up to a more and more suspenseful level to the point where the audience is on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next. I already mentioned the perfect acting but I feel I have to point out Kinniman in particular. Sure-the other two are great in their respectful roles but Kinniman, who you may have seen on the AMC show The Killing transforms his character into both sympathetic and truly frightening. It is one of the best if not the best performance I have seen all year.
You may want to drink more than a few ships of coffee before seeing Easy Money. Even though I was wide awake and 100% engaged during the entire film...I even got confused at points. It is a thriller that never takes its foot off the gas even though it is awfully confusing at some points. However, even the confusing parts are impossible not to be enthralled by.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, drug content, and some sexuality)
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