The Snowman

 The Snowman 2017

• Director: Tomas Alfredsson
• Seen by this director: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Låt den rätte komma in
• Based on the novel by Jo Nesbö
• Cast: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlott Gainsbourg, Jonas Karlsson, Michael Yates, Ronan Vibert, JK Simmons, Van Kilmer, David Dencik, Toby Jones, Genevieve O’Reilly, James D’Arcy, Adrian Dunbar, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Dalle, Anne Reid
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Michael Fassbender – X Men etc, Macbeth, 12 Years a Slave, Prometheus, Inglourious Basterds, Hunger
• Rebecca Ferguson – Doctor Sleep, The Greatest Showman
• Charlotte Gainsbourg – Melancholia, Lemming, 21 Grams
• Jonas Karlsson – The Tempest (on stage as Caliban at Dramaten in Stockholm), Gustav IIIs äktenskap, Snoken
• JK Simmons - La La Land, Whiplash, Burn After Reading, Juno, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Hidalgo, The Cider House Rules
• Van Kilmer – Pollock, Dead Girl, Heat, Batman Forever, True Romance, The Doors
• David Dencik – Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy, Män som hatar kvinnor, Upp till kamp
• Toby Jones – The Hunger Games, The Man Who Knew Infinity, My Week with Marilyn, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, St Trinian’s 2, Creation, Frost/Nixon, The Mist, Amazing Grace, Infamous, Mrs Henderson Presents, Finding Neverland, Ladies in Lavender, Hotel Splendide, Joan d’Arc, Naked, Orlando
• Genevieve O’Reilly – Star Wars Rogue One, The Fall, Young Victoria, Matrix etc
• James D’Arcy – Dunkirk, Broadchurch, Jupiter Ascending, Cloud Atlas, Bonekickers, Wilde
• Adrian Dunbar – The Hollow Crown, Good Vibrations, Richard III, The Crying Game, My Left Foot
• Chloë Sevigny – Love and Friendship, Broken Flowers, Manderlay, Dogville, American Psycho, The Last Days of Disco
• Anne Reid – Tango in Halifax, Years and Years, Song for Marion, Marchlands, Doctor Who, Hot Fuzz, Seaforth
• Why? Because I like snow.
• Seen: 20 June 2021. 30 ˚ C in Stockholm today.      

       What an absolutely stunning winter mountain landscape. An exciting beginning too.

       It’s fun to see Oslo in the winter. We’ve only been there in the summer.

       Oh yes, the story. Harry (Fassbender) is a cop, once a legend but now a drunk (have we heard that before?). He has a new partner Katrine (Ferguson) who is obsessed with missing person cases. Women, unhappily married, with children. It’s complex and unfolds slowly.

       The cinematography is outstanding throughout and rates 5* on its own. The cast is strong and it’s really fun to see a film set in so many places in Norway that we’ve visited. The only problem is that I don’t really like grisly convoluted murder mysteries like this (I couldn’t even finish the one Nesbö book I started and that was Macbeth), the ending is too farfetched to swallow and it goes on too long. A pity for a film that started so promisingly.

       And it’s such a beautiful film. 

3* of 5