If you haven't seen Easy Money 2010, you’re honestly missing out on the movie that basically handed Joel Kinnaman his career on a silver platter. It’s called Snabba Cash in Swedish. That title literally translates to "Fast Cash," which is a lot more honest about what the movie is actually doing. It’s not just another gritty crime flick. It’s a surgical look at how the desire for status can absolutely wreck a person's soul.
Most people know Joel Kinnaman from Suicide Squad or Altered Carbon these days. But back in 2010? He was this lanky, intense Swedish actor playing JW, a business student who is faking it until he makes it. Or, more accurately, faking it until he falls off a cliff. He lives a double life, driving a cab to fund a lifestyle he can't afford so he can hang out with the wealthy elite in Stockholm. It’s cringe-inducing and brilliant.
What Easy Money 2010 Gets Right About the Hustle
The film is based on the novel by Jens Lapidus. He was a criminal defense lawyer, so the guy actually knows what he's talking about. This isn't some Hollywood fever dream where everyone has infinite bullets and perfect hair. The violence is messy. The logistics are boring and dangerous.
Director Daniel Espinosa, who later went off to do Safe House and Morbius, found a way to make the cinematography feel claustrophobic. You feel JW’s anxiety. He’s selling cocaine to keep up appearances, and the movie does this great job of weaving his story together with two other guys: Jorge, a Latino convict on the run, and Mrado, a Serbian hitman.
It’s a triangle of desperation.
JW wants class. Jorge wants freedom. Mrado? He just wants to take care of his daughter while being a professional monster. It’s a weirdly humanizing look at people who are objectively doing terrible things. You’ve got these three disparate lives that shouldn't touch, but the drug trade is the gravity that pulls them into a localized car crash.
👉 See also: Album Hopes and Fears: Why We Obsess Over Music That Doesn't Exist Yet
The Joel Kinnaman Factor
Honestly, Kinnaman’s performance is the anchor. There’s this scene where he’s trying to fit in at a party with the "bratty" upper-class Swedes. He’s wearing the right clothes, but he’s terrified of being found out. It’s a performance based on posture. When he’s with the rich kids, he’s stiff and arrogant. When he’s alone or in the cab, he looks like he’s about to throw up.
That tension is what makes the Easy Money 2010 film work. It’s a psychological thriller masquerading as a crime drama. You aren't just watching a drug deal; you're watching a man lose his identity piece by piece.
A Different Kind of Crime Cinematography
A lot of movies from that era tried to copy the "shaky cam" style of the Bourne identity. Most failed. They just made the audience nauseous. But Espinosa uses a handheld style that feels like documentary footage. It’s raw. The color palette is cold—lots of blues and greys. Stockholm looks beautiful but completely indifferent to whether these characters live or die.
The pacing is frantic. One minute you’re in a quiet library watching JW study, and the next, you’re in the middle of a prison break or a brutal shootout in a warehouse. There’s no "cool" factor here. Unlike Scarface or Goodfellas, you never want to be these guys. They are miserable.
The Cultural Impact in Sweden and Beyond
In Sweden, this was a massive cultural event. It changed how Swedish movies were made, moving away from the traditional "Wallander" style police procedurals into something more global and aggressive. It was so successful that Martin Scorsese actually put his name on the US marketing to give it some street cred.
✨ Don't miss: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads: Why This Live Album Still Beats the Studio Records
There were sequels, of course. Easy Money II and III came out in 2012 and 2013. They are fine, but they don't quite capture the lightning in a bottle that the first one did. There’s also the Netflix series that came out a few years ago. It’s a "soft reboot" set in the same world but focused on the tech startup scene. It’s good! But it’s different. The 2010 film remains the definitive version of this story.
Why We Are Still Talking About It
You’ve probably noticed that "hustle culture" is everywhere now. Everyone is an entrepreneur. Everyone is "grinding." Easy Money 2010 was ahead of its time because it showed the dark side of that ambition before it became a social media trend. JW is the ultimate cautionary tale for the "fake it 'til you make it" generation.
He didn't want to be a drug dealer. He wanted to be a billionaire. The drugs were just the fastest vehicle he could find.
The movie also handles the immigrant experience in Sweden with a lot of nuance. Jorge and Mrado aren't just "foreign bad guys." They are people trying to navigate a system that doesn't particularly want them there. The friction between the polished, wealthy "old money" Stockholm and the gritty, multicultural underworld is where the movie finds its heartbeat.
Realism vs. Stylization
One thing that really stands out is the lack of a traditional "hero." Usually, in these movies, there’s a cop we follow. Not here. The police are almost non-existent. It’s a closed ecosystem of criminals and pretenders.
🔗 Read more: Wrong Address: Why This Nigerian Drama Is Still Sparking Conversations
The dialogue is sparse. It relies on looks and environment. For example, when JW finally gets some real money, he doesn't celebrate. He just buys more expensive versions of the things he already had to hide his tracks better. It’s tragic, really.
Practical Takeaways for Film Fans
If you're going to watch it, try to find the original Swedish audio with subtitles. The dubbing is usually pretty bad and ruins the cadence of the actors' voices.
- Watch for the costume design: Pay attention to how JW’s clothes change as he gets deeper into the criminal world. It’s subtle, but his "costume" as a rich kid becomes more armor-like.
- Compare it to the book: If you're a reader, Jens Lapidus’s "Stockholm Noir" trilogy is worth your time. It’s written in a very "staccato" style—short, punchy sentences that match the film’s energy.
- Track the directors: Look at what Daniel Espinosa did after this. You can see the DNA of Easy Money in his Hollywood work, specifically how he handles tension in tight spaces.
Actionable Next Steps
If you want to dive deeper into this world, here is exactly how to do it:
First, track down the original 2010 film on a streaming service like Criterion Channel or Mubi, as they often carry the high-quality transfers. Avoid the edited-for-TV versions if you can.
Once you’ve seen the movie, jump into the first season of the Snabba Cash Netflix series. It’s fascinating to see how they updated the themes of "easy money" for the 2020s, trading cocaine for venture capital and crypto while keeping the same sense of impending doom.
Finally, if you’re a fan of the "Scandi-noir" genre, use this movie as a jumping-off point to explore other non-police-centric Swedish cinema like The Hunt (Jagarna) or the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The 2010 era was a goldmine for this kind of gritty, high-stakes storytelling that doesn't rely on cheap jump scares or CGI.