Intrigo: Death of an Author

I think the actor's knew they were going to be paid regardless of how the movie turned out. So they did their best. To me, I never forgot that I was watching Ben Kingsley, so what happened to his character? Actually, why was his character even there? This movie started out with an intriguing premise, melded into some totally unbelievable ideas and got lost when it drove on the wrong side of the road, so to speak. If the intention was to make it all unclear and confusing then it deserves applause; but methinks someone watched Alfred Hitchcock and thought to themselves, "I can do that". I'll just make it original with some German accents and blue eyed chosen people. I will forget this one soon.

Greetings again from the darkness. Daniel Alfredson directed two of the three films in the original "Millenium" trilogy by fellow Swede, the late Stieg Larsson. He handled THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE and THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST. Alfredson has now signed on to direct a trilogy of films based on Hakan Nesser's "Intrigo" novellas. This is the first in the series, with "Dear Agnes" and "Samaria" coming soon (each with completely different casts).

Nesser's stories have been adapted for the screen by Alfredson and Brigitta Bongenheim, and they face the challenge of all crime stories making the move to movies ... how to create an equal level of suspense. Benno Furmann (JOYEUX NOEL, 2005) stars as David, a translator by profession who has written his first novel. We first see David on vacation with his wife Eva (Tuva Novotny, ANNIHILATION, 2018), who spoils his plans by telling him she is leaving him for her therapist. We next see him planning or imagining her death.

Flash forward three years and David has arranged a meeting with successful writer Alex Henderson (Sir Ben Kingsley, Oscar winner for GANDHI, 1982) in hopes of receiving advice on his debut novel. Their meeting takes place at Henderson's isolated island retreat, which serves as his primary residence away from 'people', the lot of whom he readily admits he doesn't much care for. Henderson agrees to let David read passages of his novel, and the 'cat and mouse' game is afoot.

David has been contracted to translate the final book of Austrian writer Germund Rein, who recently committed suicide (mysteriously) while at sea. As the twists and turns unfold, David begins to wonder if there is a connection between Rein and his own story. A simple cough heard while listening to a radio concert sends David on the road. He discovers a code within Rein's manuscript, and the film bounces between the multiple stories and layers.

When David's fiction crosses over with his own reality, it's our job as viewers to keep up and distinguish between the two. It's not always easy as the structure seems designed to confuse. On the other hand, some of the aforementioned twists and turns might as well have neon signs explaining what is about to happen, why it happens and how it is related to what has already happened. Because of this, the film lacks the tension suspense and conflict necessary for this type of story. Storytelling is the focus, but it's that storytelling that is the film's downfall. While it's always fun to watch Kingsley tear into a role, and some of the scenery is drop-dead gorgeous, we do hope the next two chapters of Nesser's books transfer better to the screen.

A little slow paced but enough twists to maintain your interest. I actually liked the Benno character. Cool calm and collected. The ending could have been a bit more powerful. But at least it had an ending unlike so many of the schlock stories that are put on film these days. Worth a look.

Benno Fürmann goes to visit Ben Kingsley on his private island. He wants Kinglsley's advice on his novel, about a man who discovers his wife is pregnant by her unknown lover, and is about to leave him. So he kills her, and seems to get away with it... until he hears her laugh over the radio at a symphony concert.

It's the first of three movies, all called Intrigo: Something or other, based on the stories of Håkan Nesser,, each intended to illustrate some concept. I found them to be mildly distressing in the same way that I find most Scandinavian movies: a sterile, bleak world of no moral values. There are intriguing plot twists, and the camerawork by Pawel Edelman is quite lovely, thanks to some beautiful landscapes in what used to be Yugoslavia when I was young and dinosaurs roamed the earth.

A translator visits a solitary writer and start telling a story about his attempt to kill his wife when she told him was leaving with another man. The story seem entangled with the last manuscript of missing writer he was translating. In any case, the story unfolds quite slow; Benno Fürmann is not particularly charismatic and Ben Kingsley's is basically an cynical egomaniac so there is no much to root for. The ending is interesting but to be there you have to wait over 90 minutes of a catatonic tale. Perhaps there are people who love these slow burn thrillers but I did not find any suspense or interest in the characters at all. Considering this is the director of original Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo I hope the next installments will be better.