''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 Peter Rudolf de Vries (14 November 1956 – 15 July 2021) was a Dutch investigative journalist and crime reporter. His television program (''Crime Reporter''; 1995−2012) covered high-profile cases and set a Dutch television viewing record. F ...

, was written by William Brookfield. The role of

Freddy Heineken Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken (4 November 1923 – 3 January 2002) was a Dutch businessman for Heineken International, the brewing company bought in 1864 by his grandfather Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. He served as chairman of the boar ...

is played by Anthony Hopkins, with Sam Worthington as

Willem Holleeder Willem Frederik Holleeder (born 29 May 1958) is a Dutch criminal. He is nicknamed ''De Neus'' (''The Nose'') because of the size of his nose. In 1983, Holleeder was sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment for his involvement in the kidnapping o ...

, Jim Sturgess as

Cor van Hout Cornelis (Cor) van Hout (18 August 1957 – 24 January 2003) was a Dutch criminal and mastermind of the kidnapping of beer magnate Freddy Heineken. Life Kidnapping and imprisonment During the abduction, Van Hout collaborated with Willem Holleed ...

Ryan Kwanten Ryan Christian Kwanten (born 28 November 1976) is an Australian actor and producer. He played Vinnie Patterson from 1997 to 2002 in the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''. After his stint ended, he joined the American teen drama series '' ...

as Jan Boellaard, Thomas Cocquerel as Martin Erkamps and Mark van Eeuwen as Frans Meijer.

Plot

The film takes place in 1983, primarily in Amsterdam, and centres on a group of five Dutch friends:

, Jan Boellard, Martin Erkamps and Frans Meijer. Looking for easy money, they decide to kidnap the Heineken owner and tycoon

to achieve a very high

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

. Although capturing Heineken and his driver Ab Doderer successfully, the group eventually face difficulties due to a 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 telephone 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 when leaving their apartment. According to the final headline, Freddy Heineken died in 2003; he actually died in 2002.

Cast

* Anthony Hopkins as

* Sam Worthington as

* Jim Sturgess as

as Jan Boellard * Jemima West as Sonja Holleeder * Thomas Cocquerel as Martin Erkamps * Mark van Eeuwen as Frans Meijer * David Dencik as Ab Doderer * Billy Slaughter as Junior Officer * Eric Godon as The cop

Production

Filming began in Belgium in October 2013. Most of the outside action scenes were filmed on location in Amsterdam.

Reception

''Kidnapping Mr. Heineken'' received generally unfavourable reviews from critics. The film has a 33/100 score at Metacritic and a 19% score at Rotten Tomatoes. The '' Los Angeles Times'' commented, "Despite its true-events pedigree, ''Kidnapping Mr. Heineken'' is woefully captive to B-movie crime saga tropes." '' Variety'' wrote, "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."

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor Ch ...

of '' The Hollywood Reporter'' wrote, "By the time the relatively brief but seemingly interminable proceedings reach their conclusion, viewers may feel like they've been held hostage themselves." 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."

References

External links

* * {{Daniel Alfredson 2015 films 2015 crime drama films British crime drama films Dutch crime drama films Crime films based on actual events English-language Dutch films Films directed by Daniel Alfredson Films set in the Netherlands Films set in Amsterdam Films shot in Amsterdam Films about hostage takings Films set in 1983 Films scored by Lucas Vidal Films based on non-fiction books Films based on works by Dutch writers 2010s English-language films 2010s British films