Feature – Iceland / UK Première

Óskar Thór Axelsson / Iceland / 2011 / 104 min

Showing @ Cineworld 3, Thu 21 Jun @ 18.10 & Filmhouse 1, Mon 25 Jun @ 20.50

Black’s Game is another film in the never-ending genre of true crime, only this time it’s Iceland’s turn to tell us about – as the film says – ‘shit that actually happened’. The film’s “hero” is the surprisingly likeable psycho Stebbi (Thor Kristjansson), brought into the drug world by his friend Tóti (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson). The first half of the film is the upside of the life: money, girls, parties plus an alternative family all proving irresistible to young Stebbi.

Where the film scores however is in dealing with the come down, and director Óskar Thór Axelsson imbues the second half of Black’s Game with a palpable dread and claustrophobia that can’t just be blamed on the long arctic winter. The film is at its best when Axelsson keeps it simple, but too often, particularly towards the beginning, it’s too stylish for its own good. When he trusts his actors to tell the story, they serve him well, and perhaps he should have had more faith. Whilst there’s not enough here to differentiate it from dozens of other true crime tales, Black’s Game has enough in its favour to recommend seeking it out. And besides, the chance to see familiar tropes in unfamiliar surroundings might just give it an edge.