The Quiet Ones

Few words get me more excited for a movie than heist movie. You see, for me, even an average heist movie holds plenty of weight—especially if it has strong working mechanics. The reason I love them, though, is that so many of them are just that good, with titles like Heat, Inside Man, and The Town coming to mind. I could name plenty more, but I think you get the point. So when I heard about The Quiet Ones, a Danish film about one of Europe’s biggest heists ever, my attention was piqued—and let me say, I walked away very satisfied.

Kasper (Gustav Dyekjær Giese) seems like a great dad—he’s really good at letting his little girl get what she wants. Professionally, he’s a boxer on his last chance to make something of himself, but when his final fight doesn’t end well, he finds himself open to new opportunities. One such opportunity comes from Slimani (Reda Kateb), who has an idea—a big one. It involves stealing a lot of money, and he wants Kasper’s help. Kasper agrees, but he sets his conditions: he just wants to plan the job, and there can be no guns involved. Slimani agrees.

When the time comes, however, another crew’s job throws a wrench into their plan, forcing everyone to call it off. But Kasper has reached a point where he needs this job. He convinces Slimani to come up with a way to still pull it off. The new plan requires more people, but the potential payday is enormous. This crew has the right pieces to make it happen—and to pull off one hell of a heist.

Written by Anders Frithiof August, The Quiet Ones has a script that struggles to keep up with Frederik Louis Hviid’s high-energy direction. That said, there are still some strong ideas introduced, especially in how Kasper’s character constantly seems at odds with what he’s capable of achieving. From the opening scene, The Quiet Ones hooks you with a gritty, tense sequence that drops you right into a robbery where the stakes are sky-high. From there, the pacing becomes uneven, dragging in the final act. But there’s still plenty to enjoy—especially the robbery scenes, which are where the film really shines.

The Quiet Ones delivers plenty of thrills, but its flaws—most notably its lack of strong character development—keep it from being truly special. Not all the characters suffer, though. Kasper is the heart of the movie, and Gustav Giese delivers a strong, convincing performance. He makes it easy to root for him, even when he makes choices you might not agree with. The rest of the cast plays their roles well, but none of them stand out, which slightly weakens the film overall. After all, heist movies work best when the ensemble clicks.

The Quiet Ones works in bursts, but it struggles to maintain the high energy needed to sustain the film throughout. Still, there’s plenty to enjoy—the moody visuals, the score, and, of course, the thrilling robbery scenes. When you combine those elements with the moments that do work, The Quiet Ones ends up being a highly entertaining ride.