Pionér (2013)

	Directed by: Erik Skjoldbjærg	COUNTRY Norway GENRE Thriller/Historical INTERNATIONAL TITLE Pioneer RUNNING TIME 106 minutes
	Produced by: Christian Fredrik Martin
	Written by: Erik Skjoldbjærg

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Petter	Aksel Hennie
Mike	Wes Bentley	½
Ferris	Stephen Lang
Ronald	Jonathan LaPaglia	½
Maria	Stephanie Sigman	½
Leif	Jørgen Langhelle
Pia	Ane Dahl Torp
Knut	André Eriksen
Minister	Arne Lindtner Næss
Trond	Endre Hellestveit

Review

Writer/director Erik Skjoldbjærg (Insomnia, Nokas) was evidently inspired by the 1970s political paranoia thrillers (such as The Conversation, All the President's Men, or Three Days of the Condor) when making this film. And why not stylize your picture after that beautifully grey, brown, and gritty decade when you're making arguably the most archetypically 1970-ish film in a while, portraying the Norwegian oil discovery and subsequent boom.

Dependable box-office star Aksel Hennie takes on the role of Petter, a working-class deep-diver selected to be in a group of pioneers who are to lay a new petroleum pipe at world-record depths from the oil fields off the Norwegian coast and back to the mainland. They are assisted by an American diving company specializing in deep-sea diving, but when the first test dive ends in catastrophe thanks to a freak accident, Petter starts suspecting that things aren't quite as they appear to be, and that someone knows more about the hazards than they are willing to divulge.

This fine premise remains both interesting and valid throughout these 106 minutes, and the film looks good soaked in its 1970s homage. Still, Skjoldbjærg's approach does give Pionér somewhat of an identity crisis. We're never quite sure if the film wants to be a truthful and informative document of these pioneering deep-divers and their role during the early days of the Norwegian oil adventure, or if it simply wants to be a mystery thriller at the sacrifice of realism. It seemingly starts off as the former, grows into the latter, and then tries to steer its way back to the former again towards the end. It only succeeds partially at this. There are too many characters and situations that are made ominous just for the sake of it (Wes Bentley's standing out as the best example), and the film thus becomes overplotted at times. There are a few too many situations with looming shadows and limping sidekicks for it all to resemble a modern, real-life power struggle. I'd rather have some of these replaced with a little more footage of how the divers went about their job, something that would have given the pivotal scene more weight as well. Nevertheless, Pionér is a fine piece of filmmaking with plenty of cinematic merit, and the busy Aksel Hennie does a fine job in propelling the film forward.