Easy Money is actually a pretty good film. I saw it at the Toronto Film Festival back in 2010 and in my review called it “a fascinating crime thriller that continually raises the stakes with each twist in the plot and a handful of different characters juggled throughout.” I had a few issues with it, but overall enjoyed it.
The Weinstein Co. acquired rights to the film about a month before its Toronto premiere and on top of preparing to release the film on July 27 in cooperation with Martin Scorsese attached as “presenter”, they are also planning a remake. However, to watch the trailer for the film’s upcoming domestic release, one crucial piece of information is kept from audiences that may otherwise be seduced by its operatic introduction. That is, the fact it’s not in English.
I can imagine people walking into this film, psyched it’s being presented by Martin Scorsese and stars Joel Kinnaman from “The Killing” and the soon-to-be-star of the RoboCop remake and, to their horror, SUBTITLES! “You mean I have to read?!?!”
Based on the 2006 bestselling Swedish novel by Jens Lapidus, Easy Money centers on JW (Kinnaman), a starving business student who wants nothing but the best. He spends his free time hob-nobbing with Stockholm elite while hiding the fact he works as a taxi driver. As it turns out, in order to attain the life he wants he’s going to have to make some tough moral choices. Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) directed the feature.
A sequel to the film — also starring Kinnaman, directed by Babak Najafi and set for release in Sweden in August — has already been made (watch that trailer here) and played in the market at the Cannes Film Festival but, to my knowledge, was not picked up. Whether that one will have the same impact we’ll soon see, but for now check out the trailer for the first film directly below.
