Niels Arden Oplev's marvelous SPEED WALKING: coming-of-age in 1970s Denmark

Who'd have imagined a movie about a death could be so full of life? Those Scandinavians who have read the novel, Kapgang, will already know this, of course. The rest of us will have to view the movie version to discover the delights of this tale of a 14-year-old boy whose mother has just died suddenly, and the loss and grief he and his family are thrown into, along with his also suddenly burgeoning sexuality which finds an object in both female and male classmates.

SPEED WALKING is alternately humorous, hot and heart-breaking, and the manner in which director Niels Arden Oplev (shown below) has brought all this together is quite splendid indeed.

Because the movie takes place in Denmark, the culture and attitudes we see will undoubtedly pull some American viewers up short. How can the adults on view be so cavalier about their own sexuality, let alone that of their children? That the movie takes place in the mid-1970s only points out how backward so much of America was then, and is perhaps even more so now.

Even though the Danes, not to mention the Swedes, were more open and embracing of sexuality, this does not mean that their society did not have its own problems, then or now. As shown here, there were still bullies and big-mouths at school, gossip was rife in the community, and the GLBT population were still seen to a large extent as outsiders.

As adapted for the screen by Bo Hr. Hansen from the novel by actor/writer Morten Kirkskov, the movie hops easily from scene to scene -- school and the speedwalking of the title to a funeral, religious confirmation, sexual exploration and more -- all tied nicely together by the director's skills (Oplev also made the original Girl With the Dragon Tatoo film) and the lead performance from a young newcomer named Villads Bøye (shown above and below, left), who it is difficult to imagine could have given a better performance.

Young master Bøye gets each moment right; he'll move you, surprise you and make you laugh -- sometimes simultaneously. As his best friend and possible lover, Kim, Frederik Winther Rasmussen (above, right, and below, left) is as blond, beautiful and handsome as you could want, while remaining just slightly out of reach -- except for an occasional hand job.

The adults are portrayed by some of Scandinavia's finest actors -- including Borgen's Sidse Babett Knudsen and Pilou Asbæk, David Dencik and Anders W. Berthelsen (shown at bottom).

The movie reveals how terribly "public" everything can be in a small-town environment at the same time as it shows us how kind and caring these townspeople can often be. Martin's journey toward adulthood, during which he must suddenly act as the only real adult in his family is a difficult one, but it is leavened with so much humor, incident and genuine feeling that I don't think that you'll regret, for even one moment, accompanying him on that journey.

From Breaking Glass Pictures and running a just-right 108 minutes, Speed Walking makes its home video debut this coming Tuesday, August 7, on DVD and VOD -- for purchase and/or rental.

DEAD MAN DOWN: Niels Arden Oplev's American directing debut proves a winner

So who is Niels Arden Oplev? Remember The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? No, no: the original version. That's right: this guy directed it. And very well, too. Not up to Fincher level, for sure, but profession-ally, intelligently and with a good eye for the visuals. Now, after polishing off a few episodes of the American TV show Unforgettable, he's back with his first real American movie, a nifty, twisty, neo-noir thriller fueled by the need for revenge -- and titled DEAD MAN DOWN.

In both these films (which are the only examples of his work that I've seen), Mr. Oplev, shown at left, combines a flair for action set-pieces, the kind of smart pacing that good thrillers need, strong visuals, crackerjack editing -- and a case for female empowerment. Immeasurably helping that last subject is the star of both movies, Noomi Rapace. This rather special Swedish actress (shown below), who combines beauty and vulnerability with a strong personality and the willingness to try very different roles, here plays a young woman named Beatrice, disfigured via an accident and its repercussions, who is now seeking out a little revenge on the drunk driver who caused it.

The instrument of that revenge is none other than Victor, played by another good actor, the oft-seen-of-late Colin Farrell (below), whose compact, muscular and very sexy little body, coupled to his ability to communicate sensitivity, provides the perfect complement to Rapace's buried beauty and angry vulnerability. These two make a wonderful couple, and the manner in which screenwriter J. H. Wyman and Oplev place them together and let them slowly fuss and fizz goes a long way toward bringing the audience into the movie in a humane and believable manner.

Victor, you see, is a kind of assassin who works for crime sub-kingpin (wouldn't that make him a princepin, or maybe a dukepin?) Terrence Howard, shown below. More than this you should not know going into the movie, for it is full of small surprises that entertain, even as they keep you on your toes.

Also in this mix is Victor's best friend, played by Dominic Cooper (below, left) and -- here's a surprise treat -- Isabelle Huppert as Beatrice's mom, who's a bit hard-of-hearing but enjoys cooking. Huppert adds some lovely class and a little humor to what is basically quite a noir-ish stew, the ingredients of which include family, loss, betrayal, revenge and love.

The movie works as well as it does, I think, due to its excellent construction, in which the initial scene -- an odd but very interesting one -- connects so thoroughly and emotionally with the film's through-line right up to and including its final scene. The morality here is complicated and difficult, and the situations of both hero and heroine are particularly sad.

Farrell and Rapace (above and below) bring genuine chemistry and emotional appeal to their roles, and the supporting cast, for the most part, are properly nasty so that we can watch them die without squirming overly much. Yet this is no Tarrantino kill-fest; Oplex never lingers over the ghastly or the gore. Instead this is a wonderfully satisfying crime-noir melodrama -- perhaps the best in the last decade since that unusually fine French film, Chaos.

From Film District and running a surprisingly lengthy but never overlong 110 minutes, Dead Man Down opens today, Friday, March 8, at theaters everywhere. To find those closest to you, simply click here, and then click on GET TICKETS AND SHOWTIMES.