This movie shows virtually everything that is wrong with Swedish film-making. It has a laughable plot, hideous acting and over-the-top lines and delivery.
Paolo Roberto is not an actor, he's a boxer. The thing that surprises me the most is that when he tries to act he comes off as a complete wuss, which is a bit contradictory considering his greatest talent as a boxer is the ability to take a beating and remain standing. So the hero is a wuss, but despite this he's not the silliest character around. That award goes to Reuben Sallmanders crime-lord Ruiz. Looking like a two-bit Latino pop star, his voice slurred in some sort of attempt to sound cool, i can't stop smiling every time he hits the screen.
There are other problems with this movie though that far overshadows the poor acting. For instance the complete ineptitude with which the dialog is written. This is a constant problem in Swedish movies. The dialog often comes off as either forced (trying to sound hip) or as classic literature (read straight from a cue-card). Here we have a little bit of both as writer/director Peter Lindmark desperately tries to implement a "street" attitude without the ability to properly write it. Knowing the neighborhoods where these people are supposedly from i know that the dialog rings anything but true.
In the end this movie is a load of crap. Decent technical quality is pointless when there is nothing behind it. Of all the crappy Swedish movies trying to deal with the theme of "troubled youth in the suburbs", this is arguably one of the worst. The fact that director Peter Lindmarks career is still alive and kicking is the biggest mystery. Avoid.
Paolo Roberto is not an actor, he's a boxer. The thing that surprises me the most is that when he tries to act he comes off as a complete wuss, which is a bit contradictory considering his greatest talent as a boxer is the ability to take a beating and remain standing. So the hero is a wuss, but despite this he's not the silliest character around. That award goes to Reuben Sallmanders crime-lord Ruiz. Looking like a two-bit Latino pop star, his voice slurred in some sort of attempt to sound cool, i can't stop smiling every time he hits the screen.
There are other problems with this movie though that far overshadows the poor acting. For instance the complete ineptitude with which the dialog is written. This is a constant problem in Swedish movies. The dialog often comes off as either forced (trying to sound hip) or as classic literature (read straight from a cue-card). Here we have a little bit of both as writer/director Peter Lindmark desperately tries to implement a "street" attitude without the ability to properly write it. Knowing the neighborhoods where these people are supposedly from i know that the dialog rings anything but true.
In the end this movie is a load of crap. Decent technical quality is pointless when there is nothing behind it. Of all the crappy Swedish movies trying to deal with the theme of "troubled youth in the suburbs", this is arguably one of the worst. The fact that director Peter Lindmarks career is still alive and kicking is the biggest mystery. Avoid.
