[KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN
opens in Cleveland on Friday March 6th exclusively at Shaker Square
Cinemas.]
Review by Bob Ignizio
In November of 1983, CEO of the
Heineken beer company Freddy Heineken, along with his driver Ab
Doderer, was kidnapped by a group of amateur criminals. They got
their ransom money, fled to various countries to hide out, and were
eventually caught and imprisoned. I know that's a fairly flat and
terse description of the crime in question, but you should see how
dull it looks on film in KIDNAPPING MR. HEINEKEN.
The cast is solid, headed up by Sam Worthington as criminal
ringleader Willem Holleeder, with Anthony Hopkins picking up an easy
paycheck for what was likely a day or two on the set as Heineken. The
screenplay is co-written by Peter R. de Vries, who literally wrote
the book on this case (actually two books: The
Heineken Case
and The Kidnapping
of Alfred Heineken), which no doubt is a big part of why events are depicted in a fairly accurate manner. Sadly, that's not enough to
make for a gripping film. Director Frederick Alfredson turns
these raw materials into a professional looking film, but one that displays
none of the style and excitement he brought to previous works like
his adaptations of THE
GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
and THE GIRL WHO
KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST.
One
feels almost guilty slagging a film like this, as it's not some
cheap, shoddy piece of schlock. But whatever inherent interest the
real case has (and there must be some, as this is the
second film version of it), what's on screen here is severely lacking in drama. 2 out of 4 stars.
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