‘The Snowman’ is a thriller based on a book by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø about a serial killer who takes their victims in the winter and always leaves a snowman behind at the murder scene. Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) along with a new recruit, Katrine (Rebecca Ferguson), must find out who the killer is as the murders become more frequent. The film has a brilliant cast of many talented people – such as Fassbender, Ferguson, J.K. Simmons, James D’Arcy and Toby Jones to name a few – but there’s so much going on that they don’t all get the screen time they deserve despite it being 2 hours long overall.
This is the main problem with the film; although it sounds simple enough, it still manages to present itself as quite complex and ends up being confusing at times. I thought that perhaps I wasn’t intelligent enough to understand everything that was happening but I did spot quite a few other confused-looking people on the way out of the screening. Unfortunately, the one aspect of the plot that did interest me which involved Simmons’ character, wasn’t properly resolved or explained. It could have been improved a lot if it had been a bit simpler and cut out some elements of the film that weren’t necessary. However, I did appreciate the themes of parenthood, specifically that of fatherhood which came up through Fassbender and D’Arcy’s characters.
Although as I mentioned not many characters gets a significant amount of screen time, Fassbender is very good in his role. Not much is revealed about his past as his current state is what’s shown to the audience; he’s a drunk who passes out in the streets most nights and doesn’t take on any responsibilities that don’t interest him, but he’s still quite likeable. It’s good to note that he’s not portrayed as the trope of the glorified drunk who can get away with being a terrible person because of his charm – he’s just strangely sympathetic in how he accepts that the people he cares about deserve better. He’s the most enjoyable thing about the film, as is the development of his relationship with Katrine.
Overall, the film feels unnecessarily long and isn’t something I would be too quick to watch again. It would have benefitted significantly from being cut down into something simpler, so it could have taken full advantage of its range of talented actors. It didn’t have many moments of real intensity as a thriller should, but that could be put down to the fact that snowmen generally aren’t that ominous even in this context. However, it’s worth watching at least once for Fassbender’s character, who is always a safe bet for a good performance.
This is the main problem with the film; although it sounds simple enough, it still manages to present itself as quite complex and ends up being confusing at times. I thought that perhaps I wasn’t intelligent enough to understand everything that was happening but I did spot quite a few other confused-looking people on the way out of the screening. Unfortunately, the one aspect of the plot that did interest me which involved Simmons’ character, wasn’t properly resolved or explained. It could have been improved a lot if it had been a bit simpler and cut out some elements of the film that weren’t necessary. However, I did appreciate the themes of parenthood, specifically that of fatherhood which came up through Fassbender and D’Arcy’s characters.
Although as I mentioned not many characters gets a significant amount of screen time, Fassbender is very good in his role. Not much is revealed about his past as his current state is what’s shown to the audience; he’s a drunk who passes out in the streets most nights and doesn’t take on any responsibilities that don’t interest him, but he’s still quite likeable. It’s good to note that he’s not portrayed as the trope of the glorified drunk who can get away with being a terrible person because of his charm – he’s just strangely sympathetic in how he accepts that the people he cares about deserve better. He’s the most enjoyable thing about the film, as is the development of his relationship with Katrine.
Overall, the film feels unnecessarily long and isn’t something I would be too quick to watch again. It would have benefitted significantly from being cut down into something simpler, so it could have taken full advantage of its range of talented actors. It didn’t have many moments of real intensity as a thriller should, but that could be put down to the fact that snowmen generally aren’t that ominous even in this context. However, it’s worth watching at least once for Fassbender’s character, who is always a safe bet for a good performance.
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