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A poor student dreaming of money and power, an underworld thug caught in a gangland power struggle, an escaped convict on the run from the law and one massive cocaine deal – these are the explosive elements that make up Daniel Espinosa’s white-knuckled thriller, Easy Money. Based on the 2006 bestselling Swedish novel by Jens Lapidus, Easy Money captures the gritty, dirty essence of a Stockholm noir in the same way James Ellroy evokes L.A. in all its sullied grandeur. Easy Money charts three intertwined storylines that converge under the umbrella of organized crime and illicit drugs. J.W. (played by up-and-coming star Joel Kinnaman) is a down-on-his-luck student at a posh Stockholm business school. Never one to let the holes in his socks show, J.W. spends his days living the illusion of wealth to fit in with his high society, jet-setting peers, while spending his nights driving a taxi to make ends meet. When he rescues recently escaped convict Jorge from a brutal beating, he becomes involved in a get-rich-quick scheme involving a huge cocaine shipment. J.W.’s financial smarts are just what Jorge’s underworld connections need, but a Serbian gang already controls Stockholm’s drug traffic. However, Mrado, a high-level enforcer who has been double-crossed and left out to dry by his boss, needs one big score so he can give his eight-year-old daughter the life she deserves back in Serbia. With millions of dollars in laundered money, secret bank accounts in Lichtenstein and a soon-to-be-delivered shipment of smuggled cocaine, the plan is set in motion. What could go wrong? When the stakes are raised and people get greedy, the bullets begin to fly and the easy money in question turns out to be anything but. Under Espinosa’s skilful eye, the characters seethe with tension in this electrifying journey into Stockholm’s violent underworld. Colin Geddes