Svartur á leik

After having watched the entire movie from beginning to end, I still don't have a clue why it's called "Black's Game" as no one in it was nicknamed "Black". Nevertheless, it did show a gritty side of Reykjavik that no travelogue would ever reveal. Yes, for this kind of film, there is an excess of sex, drugs and rock & roll, but that's to be expected. And lest the gore hounds are disappointed, a lot of brutal violence, too. The ending was grossly abrupt, something I'm sure most viewers would complain about. I know I did. Not a bad film, all and all.

So this is based on real life persons and incidents. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Certain things here may still seem like cliches, but that is just because we have become familiar with them and has not that much to do with the movie itself.

Dive into a life full of insanity and illegal happenings. You don't have to sympathize for most of the characters, but maybe you will get curious enough to want to know where their journey goes. Very well made and full of tension.

I saw this film as part of the Rotterdam Film Festival 2012. Main features are the high quality acting and script. The story has an unmistakable drive, keeping your attention for the whole duration. What we see unroll is a typical growth path for a young criminal. He starts with something relatively innocent, moves on to something less benign, and just has to continue from then on while becoming more and more unable to leave the "circle".

As a bonus we get a nice hint from the mentor-in-crime of our main character. When something unexpected happens, do the first thing that comes to mind, however strange it may be, and do it without any hesitation. He indeed acts on that rule a few times with success, especially in the final scene. How that last scene ends exactly, is deliberately left open by the film makers. I don't consider that to be a real problem, this being the only logical wrap-up for the story.

The final Q&A revealed that the footage was shot last May, but that the editing only finished the Monday before the festival screening. Having a fixed deadline in the form of this festival, was definitely needed to arrive at the finished product we saw.

It was entertaining to see gangs and crime and how they act, this subject is interesting. Maybe too much hanky panky that don't add to the plot. However, that scene with the villain and Stebbi made me hope that Stebbi could get rid of him... he didn't and that scene is so heartbreaking. I wanted to hug him and I hoped for justice, that didn't happen either. He didn't tell anyone, he at least followed his friend's advice to fight in the craziest moment. But it isn't even clear what happened - at least for me because I didn't pay attention to the details.

So the movie manages to be entertaining and emotionally touching but has its flaws.

Black's Game is a film produced by the director of Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn. I most likely don't need to tell you this, as most of you will have probably come to this after devouring his cinematography, looking for more of the same stylish cinema. What I do need to tell you is that this, isn't really like his works, well at least not his more modern attempts. It does have aspects of Refn, most notably with the Soundtrack and the style, but this is not Refn. Óskar Thór Axelsson establishes himself here as someone to watch.

It starts slowly, and as the events unfurl and become chaotic, so does the pace of the film really hyping up towards the finale. Every character is well played, and despite the language barrier, I could actually feel the characters. Everything about this film, was stylish and well played out, really mimicking its subject and the lifestyle without seeming forced.

At a relatively short time of an hour and forty minutes, this doesn't outstay its welcome, unlike a lot of films released today. And is well worth a watch, especially if you like crime drama's. Overall, a stylish look at the start of the Millennium, and a fascinating character driven crime drama.