In Order of Disappearance – Film Review

Scandi-noir meets Tarantino in this icy Norwegian revenge thriller

Stellan Skarsgard plays a vengeful father on the trail of his son’s killers in this entertaining snowbound Norwegian thriller from director Hans Petter Moland. Skarsgard was great fun as mad scientist Erik Selvig in Marvel’s Thor films but here, as the unfortunately monikered Nils Dickman, driver of a mountain snowplough and ‘Citizen of the Year’ in his small mountain village, he’s full of icy rage on a Taken-style vigilante rampage.

Dickman’s up against ruthless gangsters who carve up anyone threatening their cocaine importing business. The bumbling cops don’t really have a clue but then this is a black comedy thriller where plot holes are to be expected. So when his quest starts racking up a Death Wish body count, vegan drug lord The Count (a slimily brilliant Pal Sverre Hagen) mobilises his henchmen while discussing the importance of five portions of organic fruit and veg daily. But Dickman is a man on a mission: “I rolled them up in chicken wire and threw them off the waterfall… So the small fish can get in and gnaw the meat off the bones… So they don’t swell up and float.”

The beautiful snow-covered landscapes are splattered crimson as The Count, suspecting his Serb rivals of the killings, starts a turf war. Their leader Papa is played with a typically dour flourish by Bruno Ganz (so chilling as Adolf Hitler in Downfall) bringing “blood for blood” wrath. It’s a strange mix as the seriousness of Dickman’s odyssey combines with the increasingly Tarantino-esque killing spree that sees one unlucky Serb underling shredded by a snowplough. But it works.

Stylistically, we might have been here before with Pulp Fiction and Fargo but unlike the Scandi-noir thrillers released in the wake of TV show The Killing, In Order of Disappearance plays for dark laughs. The names of the fallen regularly appear on screen in order of their ‘disappearance’ as Skarsgard’s righteous energy drives the action. A delirious climax pays homage to ’90s thrillers and will leave you with an incredulous smile on your face.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories