Slim Susie

For anyone who thought all Swedish movies were either melancholy dramas by the likes of Ingmar Bergman or softcore erotica for the art house crowd, Slim Susie may come as a surprise. Similar in comedic tone and style to the raucous Scottish drug comedy Trainspotting, director Ulf Malmros' small-town crime comedy reflects the current trend in Swedish film toward more youth-oriented plots, chock-full of pop-culture references and a soundtrack of energetic Swedish and American rock 'n roll. The humor is as dark as it is entertaining, revolving around the title character (Tuva Novotny), a young former beauty queen in the quiet rural village of Värmland who goes missing after she comes into possession of a suitcase full of cash. As Susie's brother Erik and a variety of eccentric small-town characters try to unravel the mystery of her disappearance, they (and we) discover that Susie wasn't quite as innocent as she looked. Malmros was clearly inspired by Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and there's something mildly derivative about Slim Susie even when it detours into interesting and often hilarious details of character. Still, it's enjoyable for those who like their comedy pitch black and violent, and it's never malevolent or overtly offensive. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a "making-of" featurette (15 min.), deleted scenes (9 min.), trailers, and an essay on the film by Jan Göransson of the Swedish Film Institute. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a winning film.] (J. Shannon)