Michaël R. Roskam directs Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval and Jeanne Dandoy in this Flemish crime thriller where a brutish farmer is reminded of his tragic past when an illegal hormone ring and police investigation circle his business.

With its tight lipped lunk lead and low level / big stakes crime plot, this reminded me of underrated Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini starrer The Drop. Turns out it’s from the same director. This isn’t anywhere near as good… shifting tone between sketch comedy and wincing tragedy, the muddy gangster genre stuff gets lost in the mix. The one lighthouse when all is adrift is Schoenaerts’ impressive physical performance. You can see why Hollywood took notice, he makes this overlong mess watchable.

4