Saturday, October 21, 2017

Movie Review … The Snowman


If Agatha Christie was Britain’s ‘Queen of Crime’, then crime writer Jo Nesbo must be Norway’s ‘King’.  Like Christie, Nesbo’s novels have been enormously popular for their intricate plotting and puzzling thrills.  Everyone loves a whodunit with the guessing game adding to a story’s fun.  Adapted from one of his books, ‘The Snowman’ tries to replicate the thrill-rides of Nesbo’s books.  Although well cast, it’s a murky thriller whose murderous pathways becomes more muddled with each frame.

Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) is a lead detective from an elite crime squad.  Known for tackling challenging cases, his latest tests his skills.  Investigating a woman’s disappearance, he fears an old enemy has resurfaced. Dubbed ‘The Snowman’, a killer who murders victims during snowfall, the evil perpetrator remains elusive.  Aided by new recruit Katrine (Rebecca Ferguson), Harry races against the clock to capture the killer before more people are dispatched.

‘The Snowman’ suffers from a clumsy narrative and terrible editing.  It almost feels like parts of the story are missing, making for confusing viewing.  Nesbo’s work thrives on its detail and imagination – little of which is seen here.  Blame could be placed on Tomas Alfredson’s uninspired direction with his lacklustre attempts at generating atmosphere continually falling flat.  Most of the brickbats should go to a script poorly choosing which plot points to use and discard, leaving a jumbled mess of a movie.

The performances are fine although ‘The Snowman’ deserved better.  The story begins intriguingly but as the red herrings and clues pile up, so do the inconsistencies.  Scenes flicking back and forth to past events only add to the general confusion with character’s motivations remaining unclear.  Whilst the stunning cinematography creates moody atmosphere, the editing and voice dubbing for certain actors are simply atrocious. 

At parts inspired and others totally amateurish, ‘The Snowman’ scrambles its way to a conclusion.  It proves that adapting books isn’t always successful with some stories perhaps best left between its pages.   Future Nesbo adaptations should take heed of ‘The Snowman’s failures with the culprits of this celluloid whodunit easy to guess.


 Movie Review Rating out of 10:  5

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.

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