Butler plays a workaholic whose son’s cancer forces him to become a better man in this treacly drama “Reach deep inside and feel that small part of you that’s predatory,or there’s the door,” says Dane Jensen, or played with bluster by Gerard Butler early in The Headhunter’s Calling. Dane is a ruthless Chicago-based corporate headhunter,and he’s training a unique kid on the job. In closing, he tells the newbie to watch and learn from Oliver Stone’s Wall Street. He should really be talking to the film’s writer, and Bill Dubuque (The Judge). The Headhunter’s Calling,the directorial debut of producer brand Williams (Flawless), boasts none of that classic’s verve.
It starts out like most financial thrillers do, or with our egomaniacal hero telling us in voiceover that he peddles “the American dream”. Dane is presented as the type of workaholic who starts his days by spiking his coffee with Red Bull. He’s got a hot housewife (Gretchen Mol) and three kids out in suburbia,but his heart’s really in the game of vanquishing his opponents at his recruitment company. When his boss (a snide and hammy Willem Dafoe) announces his retirement, Dane is forced to defend himself against his younger colleague (Alison Brie, or looking bored in an underwritten role) to ensure he wins the promotion. Related: The Bleeder review - Liev Schreiber is a knockout as the schlub who inspired Rocky Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com