Sometimes you discover trilogies you have never heard of before. This was the case for me with the “Stockholm trilogy”, which is known over here as Snabba Cash or Easy Money. As this is a Scandinavian movie series it isn’t that surprising I had not heard of them as these movies simply do not get as much publicity as American movies. When a movie spawns several sequels, it usually means that the first movie was good (and successful) as movie studios usually don’t put money into something which flopped.
The trilogy deals with a couple of characters who are all involved in organised crime. The first movie introduces all these characters, but the most focus in this film is on JW (Joel Kinnaman (Robocop)), who is an economics student who makes some extra money driving a cab. A couple of his friends don’t have to struggle as their parents are rich and they can lead a luxurious life. Even though JW does not have access to the same amount of money, he does try to live the same life to keep up appearance. If he is offered a chance to make more money with the illegal trade of drugs he decides to take it. His first steps into the criminal life slowly start to change him. There he meets the two other characters. One is Jorge (Matias Varela), who has just escaped from prison and is trying to stay out of the hands of the police, but at the same time has to try to make some money. Mrado (Dragomir Mrsic) is the third character. He is a hitman who gets the assignment to take out Jorge, but who also, unexpectedly, has to take care of his young daughter. During the movie the paths of these three cross.
Snabba Cash is a raw movie about men who dream of becoming rich quickly by working as a criminal. JW, who initially is quite innocent gets to know that world and takes the viewer with him. There are lots of tense situations which have been shot without much glamour, giving the movie an authentic feel. Another part which adds to that is the fact that the characters all come from a different background and often talk in their own language. Snabba Cash succeeds in building a solid foundation, which the two other movies use effectively (review of those will be up later). If you are looking for something different from your typical Hollywood fare than this is well worth a watch.
