Easy Money Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Easy Money Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 16, 2013

Winner of Best Actor and Best Cinematography Awards at the Guldbagge Awards, Swedish director Daniel Espinosa's "Snabba cash" a.k.a "Easy Money" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films-UK. There are no supplemental features on this release. In Swedish, Serbian, Arabic, Spanish, and English, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The student

JW (Joel Kinnaman, Safe House, TV's The Killing) is a business student who lives in a dormitory somewhere in Stockholm. Because he cannot support his preferred lifestyle - which essentially boils down to being able to dress nicely and occasionally attend posh parties full of beautiful women and well connected hotshots - he has started working for Abdulkarim (Mahmut Suvakci, TV's Arne Dahl), a local drug dealer with a solid network of pushers. The money he earns isn’t great, but his business hours are flexible, which means that he can remain focused on his studies.

JW’s life changes when he runs into Jorge (Matias Varela, TV's The Borgias), a Chilean drug dealer and prison escapee wanted by the Serbian mafia but protected by Abdulkarim’s people. Jorge has an important contact in Germany willing to work with Abdulkarim who can secure large loads of cocaine at a price that will seriously weaken the Serbian mafia’s positions in Stockholm. For the right amount of money, JW agrees to have Jorge stay with him until the first load is delivered.

Meanwhile, Serbian kingpin Radovan Kranjic (Dejan Cukic, Just Another Love Story) summons his best hit man Mrado (Dragomir Mrsic, Leo, Edge of Tomorrow) and tells him to prepare for war with Abdulkarim’s people. Having already confronted Jorge and realizing that a war would give the local authorities the reason they have been looking for to start arresting Radovan’s people, Mrado questions the decision to go to war. Radovan’s reaction immediately convinces him that he does not value his life.

Around the same time JW meets Sophie (Lisa Henni), a beautiful girl from a wealthy family. The two quickly fall in love, but JW’s insecurity and his part time gigs seriously complicate things between the two lovers.

Based on the novel by criminal defense attorney Jens Lapidus, Daniel Espinosa’s Snabba Cash a.k.a Easy Money is as much of a modern gangster film as it is a thought-provoking drama about a country whose identity might have been altered. While observing JW meeting and dealing with different ethnic gangsters, it actually feels like the visuals are from an exotic South American country where powerful gangs have declared war on each other. The chaos and brutal violence are so intimidating that it literally feels wrong to assume that both are in fact part of Swedish reality.

The sense of uncertainty that permeates Easy Money will likely inspire some viewers to compare it to such films as Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Amores Perros. The hectic camera movement will remind other viewers of Jose Padilha’s nihilistic crime films Elite Squad and Elite Squad: The Enemy Within.

Kinnaman, who is also one of the stars in Padilha's upcoming Robocop film, is excellent as the naive but willing to work hard business student. Mrsic is outstanding as the brutal Serbian killer. Newcomer Henni also manages to impress despite her limited time in front of the camera.

Two sequels have already been released theatrically in Sweden: Babak Najafi's Snabba Cash II a.k.a Easy Money: Hard to Kill (2012) and Jens Jonsson's Snabba Cash - Livet Deluxe a.k.a Easy Money: Life Deluxe (2013). In the United States, Warner are also planning to produce a remake of the first film with Zac Efron.

Easy Money Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Daniel Espinosa's Easy Money arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films-UK.

Despite the frequent camera movement, detail and clarity are very impressive. There are rather large portions of the film where light is restricted, but even very small objects are exceptionally easy to see. The daylight footage is always very crisp and sharp. Contrast levels are stable throughout the entire film. The film's color scheme fluctuates as the action moves from one location to another, but these fluctuations are clearly intended. Cold blues and grays and warm browns are the prominent colors. There are no serious transfer-specific anomalies to report in this review. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues. All in all, even though I have not seen Easy Money theatrically, I feel very confident stating that the Blu-ray release accurately replicates the film's intended theatrical look. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Easy Money Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Swedish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with portions of Serbian, Arabic, Spanish, English). For the record, Lionsgate Films-UK have provided optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track has an excellent dynamic range and opens up the film exceptionally well. There are action sequences where the crispness and clarity of the gunshots create the impression that one is amongst the gangsters. Elsewhere, Jon Ekstrand 's ambient soundtrack effectively supports the remarkably tense atmosphere. The dialog is very crisp, clean, and stable. There are some minor dynamic fluctuations that occasionally make it difficult to hear exactly what is said, but they are intended. (Obviously, the goal is to have a very realistic looking and sounding crime film). The English translation is excellent.

Easy Money Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray release.

Easy Money Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Promoted by Martin Scorsese, Swedish director Daniel Espinosa's Easy Money should appeal to folks who like gritty contemporary crime thrillers. The cast is outstanding and the direction is very stylish. Let's hope that the recently released sequels, Easy Money: Hard to Kill and Easy Money: Life Deluxe, will also be distributed on English-friendly Blu-rays. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.