Kidnapping Freddy Heineken

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken (U.S. title Kidnapping Mr. Heineken) is a 2015 British-Dutch crime drama film directed by Daniel Alfredson based on the 1983 kidnapping of Freddy Heineken. The screenplay, based on the 1987 book by Peter R. de Vries, was written by William Brookfield. The role of Freddy Heineken is played by Anthony Hopkins, with Sam Worthington as Willem Holleeder, Jim Sturgess as Cor van Hout, Ryan Kwanten as Jan Boellaard, Thomas Cocquerel as Martin Erkamps and Mark van Eeuwen as Frans Meijer.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Kidnapping Freddy Heineken
U.S. theatrical release poster
Directed byDaniel Alfredson
Produced byJudy Cairo
Howard Meltzer
Michael A. Simpson
Screenplay byWilliam Brookfield
Based onKidnapping Freddy Heineken
by Peter R. de Vries
StarringAnthony Hopkins
Sam Worthington
Jim Sturgess
Ryan Kwanten
Music byClay Duncan
Lucas Vidal
CinematographyFredrik Bäckar
Edited byHåkan Karlsson
Production
company
European Film Company
Informant Europe SPRL
Umedia
Distributed byAlchemy
A Plus Films
Signature Entertainment
Release date
  • 18 January 2015 (2015-01-18) (Netherlands)
  • 3 April 2015 (2015-04-03) (United Kingdom)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Netherlands
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The film takes place in 1983, primarily in Amsterdam and centres on a group of five Dutch friends: Willem Holleeder, Cor van Hout, Jan Boellard, Martin Erkamps and Frans Meijer. Looking for easy money, they decide to kidnap the Heineken owner and tycoon Freddy Heineken to achieve a very high ransom. Although capturing Heineken and his driver Ab Doderer successfully, the group eventually faces difficulties due to their lack of experience in crime. They fail to negotiate with the police, and Cor feels it is his duty to take care of his pregnant wife, Sonja. After Heineken is finally released by the police, Willem and Cor flee to Paris, where they plan to remain hidden. However, Cor experiences strong emotions to phone call Sonja, a dangerous action that could easily reveal their location to the police tracing. He is initially reluctant and has arguments with Willem, but ultimately gives in to his feelings and calls Sonja, resulting in Cor and Willem being arrested by the French police while leaving their apartment. According to the final headline Freddy Heineken died in 2003 (he died in 2002).

Cast

Production

Filming began in Belgium in October 2013.[7]

Reception

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken received generally unfavorable reviews from critics. The film holds a 33/100 score at Metacritic,[8] and a 20% score at Rotten Tomatoes.[9]

The Los Angeles Times commented: "Despite its true-events pedigree, Kidnapping Mr. Heineken is woefully captive to B-movie crime saga tropes."[10]

Variety: "About as appealing as day-old beer littered with cigarette butts, the abysmal caper drama Kidnapping Mr. Heineken is one of those international co-productions produced for all the right tax-credit reasons and none of the right artistic ones."[11]

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter: "By the time the relatively brief but seemingly interminable proceedings reach their conclusion, viewers may feel like they've been held hostage themselves."[12] Conversely, Rex Reed of The New York Observer gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, and commented: "Anthony Hopkins plays the king of the hops, and he is excellent. So is the rest of the movie, a sober, no-frills account about the highest ransom ever collected up to that time—$10 million and counting."[13]

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References
  1. "Veel animo voor onaffe Heineken-film in Cannes". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 14 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  2. "Was Mastroianni maar een biermerk". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). 15 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  3. (in Dutch) Anthony Hopkins wordt Freddy Heineken, Telegraaf, 12 May 2013
  4. (in Dutch) Hopkins gaat Heineken spelen, NOS, 12 May 2013
  5. (in Dutch) Anthony Hopkins speelt Heineken in nieuwe film over ontvoering, Volkskrant, 13 May 2013
  6. "Sir Anthony Hopkins set to film Heineken kidnap movie". BBC News. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  7. https://variety.com/2013/film/news/jim-sturgess-sam-worthington-ryan-kwanten-joining-freddy-heineken-1200706440/
  8. "Kidnapping Mr. Heineken Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  9. "Kidnapping Mr. Heineken". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  10. Abele, Robert (5 March 2015). "Review: 'Kidnapping Mr. Heineken' brews up a B-movie crime tale". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  11. Foundas, Scott (5 March 2015). "'Kidnapping Mr. Heineken' Review: An Abduction of Your Time and Money". Variety. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  12. Scheck, Frank (4 March 2015). "'Kidnapping Mr. Heineken': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  13. Reed, Rex (4 March 2015). "Rex Reed Reviews 'Kidnapping Mr. Heineken'". The New York Observer. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
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