The film adaptation of Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman is releasing this week in theaters, and the critical reaction hasn’t been pretty. Our own review had this to say: “How it is a film of this magnitude could fall at every hurdle is to be beholden, and one can only presume Alfredson, in years to come, will denounce this as not his”. Ouch.
However, this opinion mirrors that of many reviews. Looking on Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently sits at a lousy 24% Rotten Rating with the official consensus stating that “The Snowman squanders its bestselling source material as well as a top-notch ensemble cast”. Once again: Ouch.
So, what happened? Well, director Tomas Alfredson is shockingly candid in answering exactly that. Speaking to the Norwegian Broadcasting Association about the film, Alfredson tells a tale of missing pieces (translated by Yahoo! UK):
“Our shoot time in Norway was way too short, we didn’t get the whole story with us, and when we started cutting we discovered that a lot was missing. It’s like when you’re making a big jigsaw puzzle and a few pieces are missing so you don’t see the whole picture.”
It sounds like our official review is exactly right: the real intrigue of this movie may be found behind the scenes. In any case, it’s a shame all around. No word if this has any effect on franchise plans. Perhaps it would simply be best to buy the book instead.
When an elite crime squad’s lead detective (Fassbender) investigates the disappearance of a victim on the first snow of winter, he fears an elusive serial killer may be active again. With the help of a brilliant recruit (Ferguson), the cop must connect decades-old cold cases to the brutal new one if he hopes to outwit this unthinkable evil before the next snowfall.
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Originally published October 18, 2017. Updated December 18, 2019.
