Pusher is an energetic Danish drug-dealer-under-pressure
movie whose tight focus on the struggle of protagonist Frank (played
with cool calm and forceful rage by Kim Bodnia) to keep from getting
offed by his supplier after a big deal goes badly is never boring.
The tough guy banter about the ho's they've variously dirtied
and the obligatory collecting and muscling and torturing and pursuing
scenes are all passable imitations of Scorcese and Tarantino,
and the bottom line is that you do care whether or not Frank will
make it. Standouts among the supporting cast are Slavko Ladovic
as the enforcer Radovan and Mads Mikkelssen as Frank's cocky sidekick
Tonny--the most charismatic two members of the Copenhagen underworld's
apparent hordes of shaved-head hoods. Pusher's a cult favorite
among European film fans eager to show that not all good street-tough
movies come from the US, and it is better than most B-grade American
movies of this genre, but nothing new.