Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Tobias Zilliacus | ... | Joona Linna | |
Mikael Persbrandt | ... | Erik Maria Bark | |
Lena Olin | ... | Simone Bark | |
Helena Af Sandeberg | ... | Daniella | |
![]() |
Oscar Pettersson | ... | Benjamin |
Anna Azcárate | ... | Lydia | |
Jonatan Bökman | ... | Josef | |
Jan Waldekranz | ... | Shulman | |
Eva Melander | ... | Magdalena | |
![]() |
Göran Thorell | ... | Stensund |
![]() |
Gustav Levin | ... | Carlos |
![]() |
Tomas Magnusson | ... | Petter |
![]() |
Ulf Eklund | ... | Nålen |
![]() |
Conny Vakare | ... | Kut chefen |
![]() |
Emma Mehoniç | ... | Evelyn |
After a young woman and her parents are murdered by a killer determined to wipe out the entire family, Detective Inspector Joona Linna works with a psychiatrist to hypnotize the son who narrowly escaped death in order to find the one surviving daughter before the murderer does. Written by Anonymous
A straightforward Swedish crime thriller starring Mikael Persbrandt, of HAMILTON fame. The story is based on a novel and I'm reliably informed that, as per usual, much of the best material was cut out, leaving this a distinctly average addition to the genre.
The story begins with a brutal massacre in which an entire family are slaughtered by an unknown assailant. The exasperated police then call in a renowned hypnotist in order to bring the sole survivor out of a coma and find out details of the perpetrator. Much is made of the hypnotism angle but truthfully it only occurs a couple of times in the movie and feels rather wasted as an angle.
THE HYPNOTIST suffers from a lack of interesting characters, particularly the investigating detective who's as bland as they come. Lena Olin is incredibly annoying as Persbrandt's harridan of a wife, and only Persbrandt himself retains sympathy for the viewer. The storyline isn't bad, and it does have a sufficiently dark and vicious edge, but director Lasse Hallstrom does a workmanlike job at best and should stick to the insufferable likes of CHOCOLAT.