El muñeco de nieve

The snowy white landscapes of Oslo seemed like the perfect setting for chilling crime thriller The Snowman, a film based on Jo Nesbø's novel of the same name. The trailers promised so much and with a lead actor like Michael Fassbender on board, it had the potential to be one of the most intense films of the year.

When Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) is called to investigate a string of murders where the killer leaves snowmen as a calling card, he must delve into past cases to make a connection before the killer strikes again.

For a crime thriller to work, it must grip the audience right through to the end. The first half of The Snowman had my full attention, unsure of where the story was going to go or what would be revealed however, as the film drew on and revelations were made, it utterly lost me due to how lazy it became. They storytelling that felt so strong in the first half was totally absent in the second, none of the revelations as impactful as they should have been and the ending coming so abruptly. I hate the fact the film didn't seem to wrap up this story properly before closing with such a sequel baiting final scene.

As with Tomas Alfredson's previous films, the pacing is pretty slow however, unlike Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the consistence in quality isn't maintained throughout. Half an hour before the end I was ready for it to finish. Such a shame because this had such potential to be such a creepy thriller, instead the snowmen left as calling cards coming across as more comical than anything.

Coming to the performances, The Snowman isn't exactly let down at all. It's just they feel a little uninspired considering some of the actors working in the film. Michael Fassbender is one of the best actors working today but even if he looks as if he's given up on the film towards the end. I'm still waiting for a Fassbender performance as good as Steve Jobs, and that was two years ago now. While I don't think anyone gave a bad performance, the likes of Rebecca Ferguson, Val Kilmer, Toby Jones and J. K. Simmons were left a little too underused for my liking.

A film of two halves for me, starting so promisingly before fizzling out to such an unsatisfying finale, The Snowman is rather annoyingly one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

Great actors, great book. Great scenery. But what's happening here? People are introduced, things are happening, but I don't get it. What is happening? What are they working on? Is there a case here, a story? I wanted this movie to be great, but it is too much fluff and little (if any) story for a movie the way it's presented. Who directed this.................................

What annoys me the most is that this movie could have been so good... an engaging story by the best-selling nordic writer Jo Nesbø, a breathtaking cinematography, an exceptional cast (Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson, JK Simmons, Chloe Sevigny and even Val Kilmer).

And yet the adaptation is so unsatisfactory. There are cuts and jumps that break the fluidity of the narrative, the plot ended up so stereotyped that in 15 minutes I already knew who the murderer was, and then there were so many loose ends... And that ending is just empty, empty, empty. What a waste of potential. This book deserved a much more coherente adaptation.

Bit slow at times but It can't be all action all the time. It entertained me, exactly what it was supposed to do.

Aside from apparently everybody in Norway speaking only English with an English dialect (good for old school filmmaking, but we're all smarter than that), it was a really enjoyable afternoon movie. Would love to have seen it on the big screen, it just had that feeling to it!! There were some shortcomings in the film, some of them were distracting, others permissible. I expected a little more, but overall recommend it on a cold, rainy day!