The Snowman
2/4
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jonas Karlsson, Michael Yates, J.K. Simmons
Rated R for Grisly Images, Violence, Some Language, Sexuality, and Brief Nudity
People can't stop talking about how bad "The Snowman" is. It's as if it's the second coming of "Gigli." That move was assuredly awful, but not nearly worth the negative buzz it got (I can think of ten movies that are far more painful to sit through). Even still, I love mysteries, which is why I was still excited to see this movie. So how bad is it? Well, I don't recommend it, but at the same time, it's not as bad as some would have you believe. It certainly won't be anywhere near my Bottom 10 list.
I think what's going on is that people are shocked that something with this much potential turned out to be so hopelessly generic. One could be forgiven for approaching this movie with high expectations. It's directed by Tomas Alfredson, who is a rising star in Hollywood. Actually, Alfredson took over directing duties from Martin Scorcese (who stayed on as an executive producer). The source material was critically acclaimed. The cast, which includes Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, the ever choosy Charlotte Gainsbourg, the always delightful J.K. Simmons, and reliable character actors Val Kilmer, Toby Jones, James D'Arcy, and Chloe Sevigny. How can you not get excited for that?
Alcoholic cop Harry Hole (Fassbender) is in a rut. He drinks far too much and ends up passed out in the unlikeliest of places. His relationship with his ex, Rakel (Gainsbourg), is complicated at best. And he's in danger of suspension from his job. Part of the reason is that he has nothing to, since there are so few murders of late in Oslo. Suddenly, women are starting to disappear without a trace. The only thing that Harry and his partner Katrine Blatt (Ferguson) have to go on are the mysterious and creepy snowmen that show up at the crime scenes. Meanwhile, his relationships with Rakel and Oleg (Yates), his "son" from another mother, are further complicated by the appearance of Rakel's new beau, a doctor named Mathias (Karlsson). Things are further complicated still with Arve Stop (Simmons), the obligatory rich creep, who is banking heavily that Oslo will be used as the site for the next Winter Games.
"The Snowman" is really two movies in one. One is, of course, the trail of a grisly serial killer who amputates his victims body parts or blows their heads off with a shotgun. The other is his relationships with Rakel, Oleg and Mathias. For this movie to work, these two stories have to fit together seamlessly. Each must energize the other. That doesn't happen. They're wedded with scotch tape and the film's pace is completely erratic. Each time it switches stories, it follows the characters in an almost documentary like fashion. Not in the camerawork, but in the sense that it's just an impartial observer watching the characters do...well, anything really. There's very little narrative drive.
The performances are fine, although admittedly they're not given much to work with. Michael Fassbender plays Michael Fassbender. Which is to say, he acts intense and internalizes his emotions. While it's true that he's always captivating to watch, even in a shitty movie like "Shame," watching him do this is getting routine. The guy needs to work with Judd Apatow or something. Neither Rebecca Ferguson nor Charlotte Gainsbourg leaves much of an impression. And J.K. Simmons is underused as the mysterious "is he or isn't he a villain." I wish he had more screen time.
In a way, "The Snowman" feels like the emperor with no clothes. It pretends to be something like "Seven" for the 2010s, but there's nothing there. It's all smoke and mirrors. At least it's watchable, for the most part. But the final 20 minutes are a complete joke. Alfredson loses complete control of the film. Plot holes abound, the plot ceases to make any sense, characters undergo frontal lobotomies and yet are able to make intuitions that are impossible to make based on the information available. And the climax is quite frankly pathetic. Not only does it have the notorious "talking killer" syndrome, but it's so silly that it's actually funny (albeit not intentionally).
I was looking forward to this movie. We get far too few thrillers these days, and I love a good mystery. But in the end, it's just another generic movie that fails to live up to its promises.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jonas Karlsson, Michael Yates, J.K. Simmons
Rated R for Grisly Images, Violence, Some Language, Sexuality, and Brief Nudity
People can't stop talking about how bad "The Snowman" is. It's as if it's the second coming of "Gigli." That move was assuredly awful, but not nearly worth the negative buzz it got (I can think of ten movies that are far more painful to sit through). Even still, I love mysteries, which is why I was still excited to see this movie. So how bad is it? Well, I don't recommend it, but at the same time, it's not as bad as some would have you believe. It certainly won't be anywhere near my Bottom 10 list.
I think what's going on is that people are shocked that something with this much potential turned out to be so hopelessly generic. One could be forgiven for approaching this movie with high expectations. It's directed by Tomas Alfredson, who is a rising star in Hollywood. Actually, Alfredson took over directing duties from Martin Scorcese (who stayed on as an executive producer). The source material was critically acclaimed. The cast, which includes Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, the ever choosy Charlotte Gainsbourg, the always delightful J.K. Simmons, and reliable character actors Val Kilmer, Toby Jones, James D'Arcy, and Chloe Sevigny. How can you not get excited for that?
Alcoholic cop Harry Hole (Fassbender) is in a rut. He drinks far too much and ends up passed out in the unlikeliest of places. His relationship with his ex, Rakel (Gainsbourg), is complicated at best. And he's in danger of suspension from his job. Part of the reason is that he has nothing to, since there are so few murders of late in Oslo. Suddenly, women are starting to disappear without a trace. The only thing that Harry and his partner Katrine Blatt (Ferguson) have to go on are the mysterious and creepy snowmen that show up at the crime scenes. Meanwhile, his relationships with Rakel and Oleg (Yates), his "son" from another mother, are further complicated by the appearance of Rakel's new beau, a doctor named Mathias (Karlsson). Things are further complicated still with Arve Stop (Simmons), the obligatory rich creep, who is banking heavily that Oslo will be used as the site for the next Winter Games.
"The Snowman" is really two movies in one. One is, of course, the trail of a grisly serial killer who amputates his victims body parts or blows their heads off with a shotgun. The other is his relationships with Rakel, Oleg and Mathias. For this movie to work, these two stories have to fit together seamlessly. Each must energize the other. That doesn't happen. They're wedded with scotch tape and the film's pace is completely erratic. Each time it switches stories, it follows the characters in an almost documentary like fashion. Not in the camerawork, but in the sense that it's just an impartial observer watching the characters do...well, anything really. There's very little narrative drive.
The performances are fine, although admittedly they're not given much to work with. Michael Fassbender plays Michael Fassbender. Which is to say, he acts intense and internalizes his emotions. While it's true that he's always captivating to watch, even in a shitty movie like "Shame," watching him do this is getting routine. The guy needs to work with Judd Apatow or something. Neither Rebecca Ferguson nor Charlotte Gainsbourg leaves much of an impression. And J.K. Simmons is underused as the mysterious "is he or isn't he a villain." I wish he had more screen time.
In a way, "The Snowman" feels like the emperor with no clothes. It pretends to be something like "Seven" for the 2010s, but there's nothing there. It's all smoke and mirrors. At least it's watchable, for the most part. But the final 20 minutes are a complete joke. Alfredson loses complete control of the film. Plot holes abound, the plot ceases to make any sense, characters undergo frontal lobotomies and yet are able to make intuitions that are impossible to make based on the information available. And the climax is quite frankly pathetic. Not only does it have the notorious "talking killer" syndrome, but it's so silly that it's actually funny (albeit not intentionally).
I was looking forward to this movie. We get far too few thrillers these days, and I love a good mystery. But in the end, it's just another generic movie that fails to live up to its promises.
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