Pusher (1996)

Pusher is the kind of thing I would have thought was exciting in the mid-1990s when it came out. Less so in 2006 when it was finally released in the U.S. But now in 2020, I just can't get that interested in these small-time criminals and their dumb misogyny, racism, violence, and stupidity. Pusher is notable for being Mads Mikkelsen's debut, and of course he's great in this. But he isn't in it for long. The performances are good – Laura Drasbæk is particularly interesting. And Kim Bodnia and Slavko Labović are both super attractive. But this film was not interesting to me. Its charms, such as they are, have not weathered well. Structurally, Pusher works rather like a Safdie Brothers movie, but Refn's movie does not work well as the Safdies' movies do. Oh also, the ending is incomplete. A movie like this needs to end. This one leaves the viewer hanging, and while this can work for plenty of films, even thrillers, the generic demands of this film require an ending. Instead, Refn punts.