First Take: The Snowman- staggering but not walking in the air

SYNOPSIS:

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

I went into this film with an open mind, and a piping hot cup of Earl Grey. Unfortunately the Earl Grey was considerably better than the latest effort from the director who brought us Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Sure, Tomas Alfredson is known for taking lesser known source material and taking it to the big screen with ease, but the general direction and pacing of the film leaves a lot to be imagined- and considering the film’s 2 hour length, it started really strong, and went downhill from there. The script is also of an average quality, with Hossein Amini, Peter Straughan and Søren Sveistrup tasked with adapting what is Jo Nesbø’s 7th book in the Harry Hole series- but the cinematography from Dion Beebe made up for the mediocrity, and Marco Beltrami once again provides music that adds to the atmosphere.

Performance wise, I don’t have that much to report on. Michael Fassbender is good, Rebecca Ferguson proves yet again that she’s one of the most versatile actresses working today, and with a supporting cast including Toby Jones, J.K Simmons and Val Kilmer, the cast is good, it’s just a shame that the overall quality of the film had to disappoint like it did. Sure, Nesbø’s books aren’t really well known here in the UK, but unlike Girl on the Train, or even the mighty Gone Girl, it just doesn’t feel right in a cinema environment.

THE VERDICT

Even with some great cinematography (and the involvement of Martin Scorsese as a producer), The Snowman is something that doesn’t lend itself well to the big screen at this point in time. A combination of poor direction, and a questionable script made the film feel rushed- and that’s not a good thing.

RATING- 3/5