Headhunters - 3 1/2 smiles

“Headhunters” is funny, suspenseful, surprising and, best of all, totally engaging. Our charming, sometimes bumbling hero, Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie), at a mere 5 feet 6 inches, fears his height is against him when it comes to holding onto his statuesque wife. Although Roger is Norway’s leading corporate headhunter, he is living way beyond his means. To compensate, he steals expensive art, but his heist of a priceless Rubens places him in the middle of a situation that he doesn’t understand and might not survive.

Director Morten Tyidum pays close attention to character development in this top-notch drama based on a novel written by Norwegian crime writer Jo Nesbø. And his cast is excellent. Hennie’s Roger starts out being irritating and arrogant, but by the time the movie comes to an end, you’re rooting for him to overcome the odds stacked against him. As the antagonist, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister if you’re watching Game of Thrones on HBO) seems the more likable one but gradually reveals that he knows more about the dark side of corporate espionage and GPS tracking than a would-be CEO should. And Synnøve Macody Lund, as Roger’s beautiful wife, Diana, proves she’s more than just decoration. “Headhunters” has a lot of grisly violence, graphic nudity and nonstop action and as long as you don’t pause to consider the implausibilities, you’ll like this one. Subtitles. 4/27/12