Alex and Fred are activists. Tomorrow, they plan to release a virus into the computer system of an international bank, then blackmail the government to cancel an impending summit – or watch the economy crumble. Bank security is state of the art, but Alex has a cleaning job and Fred is a technical genius. They have the equipment and a perfect plan. It’s foolproof.
Then Alex wakes up in hospital.
A nurse tells him the date: it’s three days later. They say a car hit him two days ago. He makes some calls. His girlfriend says they split up just before the crash, Fred has disappeared, and the stock market is going crazy. Alex must have installed the virus, but recalls nothing. A kindly doctor offers Alex an experimental treatment to help salvage his memory – it’s an expensive technology, but well funded by certain private sources.
Here again is proof that gripping thrillers don’t need running about or shouting or exploding wads of budget nearly as much as they need a clever premise and tight plot. Absolut delivers on both fronts, then goes further; rising from well-executed genre piece to daring, original moviemaking. Intrigue and ambiguity build toward a conclusion so shocking it tends to cause arguments in the foyer (please fight quietly; other films may still be playing). Here’s a clue: keep an eye on the blond. OS
