When I first saw the trailers for The Snowman in July, I was extremely excited. This film featured a star-studded cast and was directed by the man who also directed one of my favorite films of all time, Let The Right One In. It’s a film adaptation of a best-selling murder mystery novel which happens to be one of my favorite genres.
I figured this film would be a good-looking, snowy version of David Fincher’s Zodiac, which I loved. What could go wrong?
Unfortunately, and improbably, a lot.
The Snowman is directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In), and stars Michael Fassbender (Alien: Covenant) as Harry Hole, an aged detective with an apparent drinking problem, Rebecca Ferguson (Life) as Katrine Bratt, Hole’s sidekick detective, and features Val Kilmer and J.K. Simmons in minor roles.
Michael Fassbender as Harry Hole, Universal Pictures
The Snowman was a 2007 novel that soon became the #1 international bestseller. The film adaptation centers around detective Harry Hole who was once a household name in the world of homicide investigators. Struggling to find murder cases to work in the city of Oslo, Hole struggles with alcoholism and struggles to maintain a true identity.
After many men and women are murdered with snowmen accompanying the crimes, Hole takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of it. As the investigation grows the murders become more and more grisly, and Hole finds that there is a lot more to these murders than truly meets the eye.
With all that being said, there is quite a bit that is wrong with this film, and it’s incredibly unfortunate that it fails to adequately adapt its brilliant source material given the production’s strong cast, an experienced director, and overwhelming hype.
One gleaming problem with this movie is its first act, and the fact that it takes up nearly half the film, yet, we still don’t really know anything about the characters, their drive, or why they do certain things. I kept on waiting for the film to “pick up,” so to speak, but it doesn’t really do that until the last thirty minutes.
The premise of the film is being explained to us as we go, which leaves most of the audience confused and frustrated. We can’t really get invested into any of the characters because we don’t know a thing about them. Yes, it touches on a few things here and there, but nothing to really make us value the protagonists.
The other huge problem I have with this film is that the plot constantly jerks you around. After the first thirty minutes, we’re given a flashback nine years into the past, and then after that one scene, it yanks us back into the present, with subtle flashbacks spliced in throughout the rest of the movie. The plot is somewhat incoherent and is quite hard to follow, and I often found myself trying to figure out where everything was actually going.
According to the director, Tomas Alfredson, he said that he was unable to shoot 10-15% of the film, which probably explains why it seems like there are holes in certain places where there should be plot elements that tie the story together.
While the storytelling elements of the film are definitely off, I enjoyed the overall look and feel of the film. Alfredson knows how to make a film look beautiful and simply evoke a sense of snowy coldness.
Nothing is really frightening about this movie, but it still does have a little edginess to it than any TV show, movie, or novel within the murder mystery genre possesses. This certainly doesn’t make up for the film’s shortcomings, but at least there are some things to like about it.
This film definitely is not any semblance of a reincarnation of Zodiac and should be passed on by moviegoers until it’s out on Netflix or available for rental.
IS IT WORTH IT?
With bland characters and a relatively incoherent narrative, The Snowman doesn’t just fall short of expectations, it faceplants in dramatic fashion. Even with nice visuals and cinematography, pass on this film on your next movie night.
