The Quiet Ones (2024) by Frederik Louis Hviid: The Meticulous Heist of a Lifetime
- dailyentertainment95
- Aug 4
- 4 min read
Short Summary: Against All Odds Inspired by Denmark's largest real-life heist, The Quiet Ones is a suspenseful action drama following a group of ambitious criminals, led by down-on-his-luck boxer Kasper, as they meticulously plan and execute an impossible robbery during the 2008 financial crisis. Despite internal conflicts and immense personal risks, they attempt a shortcut to greatness and wealth.
Link IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32887283/
About movie: https://trustnordisk.com/movie/the-quiet-ones
Link to watch: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-quiet-ones-2024 (US), https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-quiet-ones-2024 (UK), https://www.justwatch.com/es/pelicula/the-quiet-ones (Spain), https://www.justwatch.com/de/Film/the-quiet-ones-2024 (Germany)
Detailed Summary: A True Story of Ambition and Crime
The Heist of a Lifetime: Set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crisis, the film chronicles the real-life story of the largest robbery in Danish history. A group of men from across Europe unite to plan a high-stakes heist on a cash processing facility in Copenhagen, with the goal of securing vast wealth.
The Boxer's Last Chance: The central character, Kasper (Gustav Dyekjær Giese), is a boxer who has run out of legitimate options for a better life. He sees the heist as his last chance to provide a stable future for his family, despite the immense risks involved.
A Meticulous Plan: The crew's plan is characterized by its rigorous attention to detail and professional execution. The film focuses on the procedural aspects of the crime, including the long, detailed preparation and the lengths the criminals went to conceal their identities from each other.
Director's Vision: Nordic Noir Meets Michael Mann
A Slow-Burn Thriller: Director Frederik Louis Hviid's vision is a slow-burn thriller that prioritizes tension and character psychology over explosive, high-octane spectacle. He focuses on the emotional and mental toll the heist takes on the characters.
Inspired by Crime Thrillers: The film draws heavy influence from classic crime thrillers like Michael Mann's Heat and Thief, with a focus on meticulous detail and a gritty, realistic tone. The cinematography and synth-heavy score reinforce this aesthetic.
Themes: The Cost of Ambition and the Lure of Easy Money
Economic Desperation: The 2008 financial crisis serves as a quiet but powerful theme, framing the heist not as a simple act of greed, but as a desperate bid for survival and wealth in a collapsing economy.
Professionalism vs. Personal Cost: The movie explores the dichotomy between the characters' steely professionalism during the heist and the personal cost and internal conflicts they face. It questions whether the pursuit of wealth is worth risking everything, including family and freedom.
Moral Ambiguity: The film avoids romanticizing crime. Instead, it presents the criminals as complex individuals making difficult choices, often blurring the lines between what is right and wrong.
Key success factors: Authenticity and Direction
The film's success is driven by its grounding in a true story, which provides a layer of authenticity.
Director Frederik Louis Hviid's confident direction and commitment to a measured, tense atmosphere make for a compelling watch.
The strong performances, particularly by lead actor Gustav Dyekjær Giese, anchor the film and make the characters' motivations believable.
Awards & Nominations: Festival Spotlight
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2024 and was selected for other festivals such as the FILMFEST MÜNCHEN.
While it has not won major awards yet, its selection for these prestigious festivals highlights its critical recognition.
Critics Reception: A Mixed but Introspective Take
RogerEbert.com: The review praises the film as a "tough, violent" crime thriller with influences from Michael Mann. It notes that the film is a retelling of a real event and appreciates the "attention to journalistic detail" but suggests it "rarely digs as deep as one might like" into the characters.
CBR: The review offers a more negative take, calling the film "a grueling history lesson rather than the high-octane crime movie that it wants to be." It criticizes the pacing as slow and bloated, and the character development as shallow, making it hard to care about the protagonist.
The Cinemen: This review praises the film's "gritty, tense" opening and "moody visuals," but also notes its "uneven" pacing and a lack of "strong character development," suggesting it "works in bursts."
Metacritic: The film holds a Metascore of 57, based on 10 critic reviews, which indicates a "mixed or average" reception. A breakdown of the reviews shows that they are 40% positive, 50% mixed, and 10% negative.
Overall: Critics are divided on the film's success. While many praise the meticulous direction, authentic feel, and tense atmosphere, others find the pacing too slow, the characters underdeveloped, and the narrative less engaging than the true story it's based on.
Why to recommend movie: A Gritty, Realistic Heist
For Fans of Heist Thrillers: The film offers a realistic, grounded take on the heist genre, focusing on the planning and procedural details rather than non-stop action.
Character-Driven Drama: It's a film for those who appreciate character studies and the exploration of human psychology under pressure, even if some critics found the development lacking.
A New Voice in Cinema: The film showcases the talent of director Frederik Louis Hviid, a rising name in Danish cinema, and his ability to craft a visually compelling and tense narrative.
Movie Trend: True-Crime Adaptations The film is part of the growing trend of adapting real-life crime stories for the big screen. It follows the popular cinematic approach of taking a documented event and dramatizing it for a new medium, often with a focus on the human element behind the headlines.
Social Trend: The Cost of Economic Hardship The film taps into the social trend of examining the effects of economic crises on ordinary people. The 2008 financial crisis is not just a backdrop but a catalyst for the main character's actions, reflecting a modern anxiety about financial instability and the lengths people will go to to escape it.
Final Verdict: A Tense but Flawed True-Crime Thriller The Quiet Ones is a well-directed and authentic-feeling true-crime thriller that will appeal to fans of the heist genre who appreciate a slow-burn, methodical approach. While some critics found the pacing to be an issue and the characters to be underdeveloped, the film's strong sense of realism and powerful central performance make it a compelling watch. It may not be for everyone, but for those who enjoy a gritty, non-glamorized look at the criminal underworld, it is a rewarding cinematic experience.
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