In 2008, a band of European criminals executed what would become Denmark’s most lucrative heist (“The Copenhagen Job,” as per Atavist Magazine). Frederik Louis Hviid’s The Quiet Ones recounts the event as a steely thriller, from blueprint planning stages to eventual incarceration. Anders Frithiof August’s screenplay contemplates the group’s motivations, financial hardships, and operational challenges concerning comparable smash-and-grab flicks, which begs the question of autobiography versus entertainment. Neither approach is incorrect, yet Hviid’s gritty recreation gets stuck in auto-entertainment limbo. The Quiet Ones checks its genre boxes, close calls and all, but cannot sustain the surveillance tension and adrenaline rushes accompanying top-tier robbery classics.
What Is ‘The Quiet Ones’ About?

Gustav Dyekjær Giese stars as the wannabe boxer and enthusiastic family man Kasper, a physical specimen driven by his desire to win at all costs. Kasper also has a proclivity for planning illegal activities, which leads to a shady meeting with career bastard Slimani (Reda Kateb). As a boxer, Kasper still has a long road ahead before winning any titles — but his family needs support now. Slimani offers him a once-in-a-lifetime heist opportunity focusing on a Glostrup value-handling company. “Kasper the Boxer” can’t provide the way “Kasper the Logistics Guy” can, so he accepts Slimani’s proposition, and the rest is history.
This isn’t The Italian Job or Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Hviid is deadly serious about The Quiet Ones, drawing comparisons to Michael Mann or Ben Affleck. The lives of gangsters are portrayed at their most desperate and somber, but even then, there’s little time wasted outside safehouses or casing locations. Storytelling battles inevitable outcomes that can be searched online in seconds, which is the toughest aspect of conquering true crime filmmaking. You have to sustain interest while showing audiences what they might already know, which Hviid does like he’s tracing news articles. Boldness is lacking as plotting plays detrimentally linear.
‘The Quiet Ones’ Is an Oversimplification of the Heist Genre

Image via Magnolia

August’s barebones screenplay throws a character development bone now and again, prominently centered on Kasper and Slimani. They’re both in relationships; Kasper adores his wife and daughter, while Slimani abuses his nervous partner by nearly drowning her for snooping. These moments reveal two contrasting bad apple personalities but are sporadic jabs that don’t build much structure. The same goes for Kasper’s early focus on athletic conditioning, which boomerangs as a callback later during the heist. Otherwise, Slimani drives around collecting vagrants to be part of his team until about fifteen interchangeable men populate the screen like ordinary thug mannequins.
The thing is, there’s nothing awful about performances, and Hviid’s eye for heist cinema is competent. The Quiet Ones might not be as tight as Giese’s six-pack, but it’s visually accomplished and suitably acted. Problems arise via pacing and intentions, given how the film’s opening armored car incident welcomes audiences with the most exciting segment. There’s a disparity between scheming stages and the gambit that never lets our heart rate surge. Hviid miscalculates what audiences are tuning in to watch, even when spotlighting Amanda Collin’s guard character only for a moderate payoff.
The Quiet Ones is an oversimplification of the heist genre that stays, as advertised, too quiet. Everything from construction vehicle break-ins to police chases matches pedestrian expectations, as a cast of anonymous goons falls short of bringing cinematic justice to the outstanding Danish felony. Frederik Louis Hviid has a knack for shooting grounded criminal antics but fumbles the handoff between setups and rewards. It’s a frustratingly one-note experience that boasts technique and potential, ultimately undone by a narrative blandness painted by numbers. Separately, everything works — the plan just never comes together.

The Quiet Ones

The Quiet Ones has clear glimpses of potential, but it’s a rudimentary heist thriller that flatlines too early and never resuscitates excitement.

Release Date

October 31, 2024

Runtime

110 minutes

Director

Frederik Louis Hviid

Writers

Anders Frithiof August

Gustav Dyekjær Giese

Kasper

Pros & Cons

Frederik Louis Hviid displays solid shot composition.
Performances are all stellar.
At its most exciting (in the beginning), you?ll find yourself engaged.

It’s a movie that lacks followthrough, teasing an ending that?s already been in headlines.
It’s drab and one-note by the end.
The heist itself is nothing special.