The thrilling film begins with a series of interesting events, where Niels works in snow plowing in the wild winter mountains of Norway, and recently won the Citizen of the Year award. But his life changes when his son is killed for something he does not do, and Nils wants revenge. But his actions ignite a war between the plant gangs 'Count' and the head of the Serbian mafia 'Papa'.
What saves it, paradoxically - even, at times, delightfully - from skidding off course into cliche is the profound appeal of its middle-of-the-road, but never dull, protagonist.
There is some very dark humor in this film. Several funny scenes involve a philosophical gangster who has an interesting theory about the role of average temperature in the efficiency of governments.
Combines black comedy with the dour, humorless mood of Nordic noir - two elements that are not, for Moland at any rate, as complementary as one might expect.
Moland directs cleanly, laying out the plot nicely, but also leadenly. This might be the slowest-moving action thriller I've ever seen - guess that's how they roll in Norway.
Dark, but exceptionally so, cooking up a tale of comeuppance that highlights sensational Norwegian locations, dimensional characters, and shocking acts of violence, keeping viewers on their toes as this wonderful movie unfolds.
Swift, fleet-of-foot, and efficient, with clean lines and a sleek finish, the Norwegian black comedy In Order of Disappearance glides through the world like a perfectly engineered car or a gorgeous piece of modern furniture.
