Northwest review

A small-time burglar gets in over his head in this Copenhagen crime drama, one so familiar you’d think writer/director Michael Noer had penned the story on the back of your hand. Casper (Gustav Dyekjær Giese) is a streetwise thief who gets a chance to advance when he falls in with minor gangster Bjørn (Roland Møller).

Casting Giese’s real-life brother Oscar as Casper’s reckless sibling Andy, Noer draws energetic turns from these non-pros, while demonstrating a real grasp of the grimy milieu. Just a pity the plot is so by-the-numbers.