Noomi Rapace kicks butt in new Netflix movie ‘Close’

Netflix is known for its awesome stable of series, but about three years ago when it released its first original feature-length film, Beasts of No Nation, no one could have predicted just how massively popular the streaming giant’s original movies option would become.

But when you’re casting award-winning big-name international stars such as Noomi Rapace, there should no doubt it’s going to be a winning formula.

In Close, the latest edge-of-your-seat action thriller from Netflix, Rapace never fails to impress with her androgynous allure, sexy Swedish accent and mesmerising butt-kicking stunts that almost killed her during filming.

She plays Sam, a close protection officer who, after a tough deployment escorting a couple of journalists through a hostile territory in Afghanistan, finds her next mission to be a rather jarring shift in responsibility to what she’s used. She’s not entirely thrilled to be assigned to protect Zoe, the spoiled orphaned teen heiress of a recently deceased tycoon.

Noomi Rapace in Close. Picture: Netflix

But the humdrum job soon takes an unexpected turn when Zoe’s new fortune and control of the multibillion-dollar family business makes her a target for kidnap and ransom opportunists.

This ends Sam and the bratty teen on the run for their lives. And Rapace shines, as always, by bringing her unique flavour to the character and great action sequences.

The 39-year-old Swedish actress achieved meteoric fame with her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish film adaptations of author Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series of books: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

If you haven’t read the books or seen the movies (and you really should), then you will remember Rapace from such big-budget Hollywood productions as Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Prometheus and Alien Covenant.

Noomi Rapace and Sophie Nélisse in Close. Picture: Netflix

However, apart from these notable mainstream mentions, her Hollywood journey can best be described as a treacherous foray into a cutthroat territory for most foreign actors (save for a few), no matter how brilliant they are.

So, in essence, Netflix’s original movies not only provide oodles of great entertainment for its subscribers, but also create a new platform for noteworthy stars such as Rapace to really shine. And shine she has.

Rapace already has three Netflix movies under her belt: What Happened to Monday (with Willem Dafoe), Bright (with Will Smith), and now Close.

Make a night of it, and watch Close for some great acting and pulse-racing action and suspense.

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