It is the film Michael Clayton wanted to be. This is a high quality thriller that exhibits judicious economy and steady pacing. In fact, the visual sheen of the whole film is rapturous, most reminiscent of Fincher's The Game. Martin entering a room where only the women remain, and their synchronized pointing to the elevator, is a visual delight. There are some satisfying twists along the way, and moments of droll humour. Mikkelsen's performance is perfect, always keeping things just below the surface so that we go along with Martin on his journey without ever truly getting to know why he embraces the contradictions of his undertaking so fully. His one connection is journalist Nina (Charlotte Munck), unhappily married, compromised and flawed, as if to say Martin could only be attracted to a female version of himself.
Lars Mikkelsen as Martin Vinge is brooding and conflicted. Martin's weak point is his son, and he plays a precarious balancing game in selling out to get his son the private medical care he needs, while simultaneously going after the truth of the story that his deep moral core compels him to uncover. The chrome and steel surfaces of the offices shine and the Ikea domestic interiors are all hard edges, giving the film a David Fincher look while also heightening the cold, amoral shenanigans of the players. with Martin ostensibly in the employ of Lear-like elder Sieger, but menaced by his Iago-esque son Daniel. Writer/director Rumie Hammerich invests this tale with Shakespearean gravitas.
Less successful as the estranged father of a seriously ill son, and carrying regret from his time as an investigative journalist and an incident involving a politician, he faces his biggest test yet when embroiled in the dynastic politics of a large shipping company. A corporate recruiter (Aksel Hennie), who moonlights as an art thief, plans to steal a valuable painting from the perfect candidate (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) for a job he needs to fill. Martin Vinge is an accomplished recruiter of high-profile business talent, a man who thrives on corporate cut and thrust.