The Snowman (2017)

Detective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.

Director:

Tomas Alfredson

Writers:

Jo Nesbø (novel), Peter Straughan (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Fassbender	...	Harry Hole
Rebecca Ferguson	...	Katrine Bratt
Charlotte Gainsbourg	...	Rakel
Jonas Karlsson	...	Mathias
Michael Yates	...	Oleg
Ronan Vibert	...	Gunnar Hagen
J.K. Simmons	...	Arve Støp
Val Kilmer	...	Rafto
David Dencik	...	Vetlesen
Toby Jones	...	DC Svensson
Genevieve O'Reilly	...	Birte Becker
James D'Arcy	...	Filip Becker
Jeté Laurence	...	Josephine Becker
Adrian Dunbar	...	Frederik Aasen
Chloë Sevigny	...	Sylvia Ottersen / Ane Pedersen

Storyline

When an elite crime squad's lead detective investigates the disappearance of a victim on the first snow of winter, he fears an elusive serial killer may be active again. With the help of a brilliant recruit, the cop must connect decades-old cold cases to the brutal new one if he hopes to outwit this unthinkable evil before the next snowfall.

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Plot Keywords:

promiscuous wife | snow | police investigation | promiscuous woman | hiked skirt | 

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Taglines:

Soon the first snow will fall, and the hunt for a killer begins.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for grisly images, violence, some language, sexuality and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rebecca Ferguson shot this film before the press junket for Despite the Falling Snow (2016). In one interview, she talked about just shooting the other film while growing out her bangs (fringe) from this film.

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Goofs

Birte Becker walks thru snow to enter her house in an early scene. There is no snow on her boots or melted snow the floor. Also Birte and her daughter Josephine both go to bed and do not use any window coverings at all--no shades, nothing, so their rooms are exposed to the bright, white light of winter.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Boy: Mom! Mom! Uncle Jonas is here.
Boy's Mother: No, it's not Tuesday today.
Boy: But he is. He's here.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: The Snowman (2017)

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Soundtracks

Vi Gratulerar (Congratulations)
Written by Bill Martin, Phil Coulter
Performed by Gitte Hænning
Courtesy of Warner Music Sweden AB
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

A true oddity of bad filmmaking

How The Snowman became the film it ended up being will likely forever remain a great mystery of bad movie history.

The Snowman's director Tomas Alfredson has publicly stated that his movie makes no sense, is missing a large percentage of its script due to filming time constraints and generally has stated that this is not the film he intended to make but that's no real excuse for the sleep inducing police thriller we get here.

That The Snowman has been so universally panned and lamented is not surprising, as Alfredson is a filmmaker whose got run's on the board with brilliant vampire tale Let The Right One In and the great cold war thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but his not the only reason why so many were genuinely surprised by the downright blandness that was this adaptation of Jo Nesbø's famous series of book's.

Starring Michael Fassbender (whose literally never been less charismatic or uninterested looking and is now officially in dire need of a hit) and such co-stars as J.K Simmons, Toby Jones, Val Kilmer and Rebecca Ferguson, produced by Martin Scorsese, scripted by competent screenwriters that includes Hossein Amini and even edited by Scorsese's long time editing master Thelma Schoonmaker, The Snowman has all the talent in the world and manages to squander it in a genuinely frustrating and uninvolving fashion as we slog through 2 hours of an indescribable mess of proceedings.

The Snowman may not be the worst film of 2017 but it's clearly the biggest waste of potential and Alfredson's claims that some hugely important parts of the story weren't even filmed don't seem too far off the mark as characters come and disappear, important story strands are seemingly passed over, while the central story of a brutal killer building snowman with severed human heads whilst taunting Fassbender's alcoholic detective Harry Hole with letters and phone calls just never becomes even slightly thrilling or engaging against all the odds of it doing so.

It's a bizarre experience witnessing a film with all the elements of being something of note and just never taking hold on any facet of its being, Alfredson ads no flair or imagination from behind the camera, Fassbender sleepwalks through his turn, Marco Beltrami's intrusive score annoys from the outset, even some badly computer generated seagulls look like they've been animated by Microsoft Paint.

With everything and everyone in The Snowman failing to make a mark or even give off the vibe that they care, it makes you wonder if this was a case of no one really being truly invested in making a good film, or at the very least thinking that it would all just fall into place with the minimum effort exerted, proving that you can have all the talent assembled and still make a downright poor excuse for a feature.

Final Say -

Not 2017's worst film but certainly the most disappointing, The Snowman could've been (and really should've been) one of the year's best thriller's, that not only had audience's on the edge of their seats, but eagerly awaiting more Harry Hole adventures in what's clearly supposed to be a franchise set-up.

What we get instead is a movie more likely to lull you into a sleep, than raise any form of interest or suspense.

1 fork out of 5

Details

Official Sites:

Instagram Official Blog

Country:

UK USA China Sweden Japan

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

20 October 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Snowman

Filming Locations:

Norway

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,372,565, 22 October 2017

Gross USA:

$6,700,035

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,155,261

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Another Park Film, Perfect World Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1