Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, J.K. Simmons, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Val Kilmer
The Snowman has been taking a pounding from critics as it opens this weekend. It isn't a terrible whodunit, it is just a thriller without thrills. It is a glum exercise pitted against beautiful, yet menacing snow-covered scenery. As the plot churns along, I can't help but be curious how the killer has time to build the foreboding snowmen around the crime scenes without being noticed. The detectives ask witnesses about details of the crime, but they should have been asking, "Did you notice anyone building a snowman right outside your home?"
The snowman is like the red balloon in IT. It's the calling card of the killer, but for reasons never really explained. The killer is never referred to as "the snowman" by the detectives working on the case. But, nonetheless, the killer has ample time to build them without being seen. Women have gone missing in and around Oslo, Norway and alcoholic detective Harry Hole (Fassbender) is on the case. The killer sends him taunting letters, a la the Zodiac killer, and the chase is on. Well, not really a chase, since the movie never develops enough urgency to make it a taut, tense thriller. It meanders along, never in a hurry to get anywhere. It spends an inordinate amount of time in flashbacks dated several years earlier involving another alcoholic detective (Kilmer), who is on the trail of the same killer. Poor Kilmer looks unwell, no doubt a result of his speculated health issues, and his voice is dubbed at a distracting several octaves too low.
Fassbender himself looks unwell, but that is likely the result of Harry's alcoholism, combined with insomnia, and passing out on park benches in the middle of the Norway winter. I understand the character's name of Harry Hole is also the name in the series of novels on which The Snowman is based, but couldn't it have been changed to anything else? The character's name isn't going to affect the box office or raise the ire of the series' readers. But with a name like Harry Hole, no wonder Fassbender seems morose most of the time.
Harry is joined by Katrine Bratt (Ferguson), a young detective whose interest in the case may be more personal than anything. She links the crimes to the rich and powerful Arve Stop (Simmons), a businessman looking to bring some sort of winter games to Oslo. Because The Snowman at least abides by the unwritten rules of whodunits, we know he isn't the killer. I confess I was able to deduce the killer's identity fairly early on by utilizing the same powers of deduction. The seemingly nice and friendly guy is...
The visual of snowy Norway is captivating and there is one moment of humor in which Harry's boss responds to Harry's request to be a given a new case: "I apologize for Oslo's low murder rate," The unfocused plot itself goes off on tangents including Harry's relationship with his ex-girlfriend and her son whom Harry tries to dote on except his blackouts get in the way. As is usually the case with movies such as these, the ex and the son exist only to be taken hostage by the killer.
The Snowman respects the traditions of whodunits, but it doesn't understand what makes them tick. The movies should be tight, focused, and wound up. Sure, there should be a red herring or two, but not filled with them. We also shouldn't be pitying the actors for having to spend so much time outdoors in the frigid Norwegian winter either. I hope there was plenty of blankets, heaters, and coffee nearby when the director yells "Cut".
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