EASY MONEY – The DVD Review

Swedish Director Daniel Espinosa’s EASY MONEY (Snabba Cash) is a plot-heavy but thrilling twisty noir crime thriller about drug smugglers in Stockholm. Lower-class business student JW (Joel Kinnaman) falls in love with a sexy heiress while living a double life mingling with Stockholm’s wealthy elite. To keep up the façade of his lifestyle, he’s lured into a world of crime. Jorge is a petty fugitive on the run from both the police and Serbian mafia. He hopes that brokering a massive cocaine deal will allow him to escape for good. Mafia enforcer Mrado is on the hunt for Jorge, but his efforts are complicated when he’s unexpectedly saddled with caring for his young daughter. As JW’s journey ventures deeper into the dark world of organized crime, the fate of all three men becomes entangled and ends with a dramatic struggle for life and death.

Although there are atmospheric scenes of seedy hideouts and a few flashes of grim violence, EASY MONEY is sustained by characterization, taking us into the inner workings of the criminal mind. It’s an extremely exciting, beautifully shot (mostly hand-held) film with a labyrinth plot and fine performances. It offers the viewer a sweeping sense of the European criminal underbelly (the dialogue is in several languages) that seems real (just wait for the Hollywood remake starring Zach Effron to screw that up). These are urban criminals with their own set of moral codes and ethnic identities. The movie goes out of its way to humanize these criminals and introduce to the viewer ambiguous feelings toward them, proving a bad guy can be just as charming or treat his dog just as kindly as a good guy (even when he’s hiding drugs in the pooch’s fur). A subplot involving a brute who suddenly has to deal with his 8-year old daughter due to her mother’s drug addiction is actually quite moving. The story may get a tad too convoluted for some viewers and requires strict attention to the layered plot but the tension never lets up, leading to a devastating conclusion. Apparently (in addition to the Hollywood remake), there are two sequels in the works (Just like Dragon Tattoo!) and I look forward to those. EASY MONEY is highly recommended.

Anchor Bay’s recent DVD release of EASY MONEY is bare-boned in terms of extras but looks fantastic (though there is no Blu-ray release at this time). It is presented in Anamorphic Widescreen, 2:35:1 aspect ratio) in Swedish Dolby Digital 5.1 with English subtitles. The cinematography by Aril Wretblad well-captures the criminal underworld, Jon Ekstrand’s music score are is loud and clear, and the sound editing during the film’s many fistfights is particularly effective.