Veteran Detective Harry Hole (Michael fassbender) pits his skills against a brutal serial killer who's calling card is a snowman.
This movie has some good moments but its funny how a movie like this can have all the right ingredients but still not deliver as a whole. The plot seems good. The cast at times is like a who's who of British TV drama - Toby Jones, Adrian Dunbar, James D'arcy, to name a few. Plus the likes of Val Kilmer, JK Simonds and Rebecca Ferguson - all brilliant actors. And of course we have the central screen presence of Michael Fassbender - brooding and growling away through a steady mist of cigarette smoke - excellent!
Then there's the Norwegian landscapes, snowy mountain backdrops to cabins waist high in snow drifts in the misty woods (blood always looks worse somehow against the pure white snow don't you think?). A diabolical killer who's grizzly work is often shown in graphic detail. A decent cinematic score, excellent camera work, I could go on...
So I was left wondering why I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I should. What was missing?
And I think it must be pacing. It just seems all over the place - either too slow (it takes 45 minutes to get seriously stuck in to the drama) or too fast, not allowing us to really get to know the characters on the level we need to really care about what's happening to them.
Plus, I know it's a hazard of the genre but honestly - there's just too many names and relationships to remember. I found myself on several occasions thinking, "Who are they"? And "Why are they doing that"? Perhaps again a hazard of squeezing too much into a tight timeframe.
It feels like lazy film making - just throw everything at it like a snowball fight and hope it sticks.
Perhaps we're spoiled by the luxury of the long form miniseries (especially good for the detective genre) - that certainly would have given the characters time to breathe (no pun intended) and develop - but then I think of detective classics like Fargo or Seven and realise that - no - it's just sloppy movie making - good but could do better! So the verdict is - it's OK - worth a watch - but don't expect too much - It goes so far but it's snow classic!
This movie has some good moments but its funny how a movie like this can have all the right ingredients but still not deliver as a whole. The plot seems good. The cast at times is like a who's who of British TV drama - Toby Jones, Adrian Dunbar, James D'arcy, to name a few. Plus the likes of Val Kilmer, JK Simonds and Rebecca Ferguson - all brilliant actors. And of course we have the central screen presence of Michael Fassbender - brooding and growling away through a steady mist of cigarette smoke - excellent!
Then there's the Norwegian landscapes, snowy mountain backdrops to cabins waist high in snow drifts in the misty woods (blood always looks worse somehow against the pure white snow don't you think?). A diabolical killer who's grizzly work is often shown in graphic detail. A decent cinematic score, excellent camera work, I could go on...
So I was left wondering why I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I should. What was missing?
And I think it must be pacing. It just seems all over the place - either too slow (it takes 45 minutes to get seriously stuck in to the drama) or too fast, not allowing us to really get to know the characters on the level we need to really care about what's happening to them.
Plus, I know it's a hazard of the genre but honestly - there's just too many names and relationships to remember. I found myself on several occasions thinking, "Who are they"? And "Why are they doing that"? Perhaps again a hazard of squeezing too much into a tight timeframe.
It feels like lazy film making - just throw everything at it like a snowball fight and hope it sticks.
Perhaps we're spoiled by the luxury of the long form miniseries (especially good for the detective genre) - that certainly would have given the characters time to breathe (no pun intended) and develop - but then I think of detective classics like Fargo or Seven and realise that - no - it's just sloppy movie making - good but could do better! So the verdict is - it's OK - worth a watch - but don't expect too much - It goes so far but it's snow classic!
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