Stockholm is based on the true story of a 1973 bank heist that inspired the terminology for what is today known as Stockholm syndrome, a phenomenon in which kidnap victims develop positive feelings for their captors. While well-made and, overall, well-acted, the film suffers from an overly quirky tone that obnoxiously attempts to highlight the absurdity of its depicted events.
Ethan Hawke plays a man trying to get his friend (Mark Strong) out of prison by holding a bank hostage. As the drama drags on for days, Hawke develops a strong bond with his captives, namely a married mother (portrayed by the wonderful Noomi Rapace) with whom he starts a romance.
Hawke delivers one of his weakest performances in years, shouting a large portion of his lines with exasperated and exaggerated angst that always lets us know he’s in on the joke. Though his quieter moments succeed with his always-present charisma, Hawke never appears fully or truly affected by the danger or the thrill of the situation at hand.
The film’s overall tone suffers the same problem. Accompanied by a nagging musical score that bleeds forced eccentricity, the film never involves its audience, always keeping it at a distance with a detached sarcasm that needlessly condescends to its subject matter.
The events depicted in the film could have easily and objectively spoken for themselves. Stockholm didn’t need to tap its audience on the shoulder every five minutes, constantly reminding us how silly this all is and how clever it is for pointing it out.
GRADE: C
