[Movie Review] “Kidnapping Freddy Heineken” is an insightful psychological thriller

Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes.

Should you watch this at weekday movie ticket prices? Definitely.

Secret ending? No.

Running time: 95 min (~1.5 hours)

“Kidnapping Freddy Heineken” is a crime drama, a dramatic retelling of the real-life 1983 kidnapping of Freddy Heineken of Heineken breweries. It stars Anthony Hopkins (Freddy Heineken), Willem Holleeder (Sam Worthington). Jim Sturgess (Cor van Hout), Ryan Kwanten (Jan Boellaard), Thomas Cocquerel (Martin Erkamps), and Mark van Euwen (Frans Meijer). It is rated NC-16.

“Kidnapping Freddy Heineken” is exactly what the title says it is – but the title doesn’t do justice to the movie, because it is so much more than that. It has elements of a caper film, a psychological thiller, a commentary on the morality of humanity, and of course, a crime film itself. The fact that it’s a dramatisation of real life events also helps bring the movie to a more relatable level to audiences – what would you have done if you were one of the kidnappers?

Highlights

Psychological thrills

From the middle of Act Two onwards, the film transforms into a psychological thriller once the kidnapping has taken place. The kidnappers are forced into a constant state of nervous tension, always afraid of being caught, always fearful of accidentally leaking some information. This eventually leads them into conflict with each other as they struggle to stay sane and pull off their dangerous crime, and keeps you guessing who is the next person who will yield to the pressure and momentarily snap.

Intriguiing take on morality and greed in humanity

The pressure cooker environment also puts the morality of the protagonists to the test. Despite being kidnappers, they’re not inherently evil people. But it’s a constant battle between greed and morality for the main characters, and whether they will succumb to the slippery slope of physical harm and torture of their victims. The excellent performances of the five leads show the struggle within and without, as they seek to convince each other and their own selves of the lines they must not cross, even as a gigantic stake hangs in the balance.

Role reversal of the characters

One of the more interesting perspectives provided is that of how the kidnappers end up being the ones who are held hostage once Freddy Heineken has been captured. With a victim in tow, they find themselves just as trapped as their captives – or worse, since they have to worry about their own safety and the safety of their ransom victim. It’s a kind of reverse Stockholm syndrome as they come to see Freddy as a friend – which in itself creates more tension and drama in the story.

Letdowns

Sudden change in tone halfway

The movie begins as a fun caper film between five friends, and clearly shows the friendship and camaraderie between them, setting up the idea that this will be an exciting and light-hearted heist film. Once the kidnapping has been pulled off though, it unexpectedly morphs into a serious, pensive movie that explores each character’s humanity, and completely loses the heist element that characterised the first half. It’s a jarring change, even if it’s for the better.

Multiple accents

Listen and you’ll notice – all of the characters bear different, non-American accents. It breaks verisimilitude when you realise that these are childhood friends. How likely is it that five people who grew up together speak English so differently? It would have been better to have standardised all their accents by hiring speech coaches for the cast.