The Snowman, based on the best seller by Jo Nesbo was certainly lost in translation when adapted to the big screen. It's a missed opportunity, putting it mildly.
I heard that the film was a mess and I decided to see it for myself if it really was a mess due to being unfinished, and they were right. It's a real unfinished mess all right. The film suffers from a strong lack of focus, the killer's methods are barely fleshed out. Fassbender plays nothing more than a burned out cop cliche.
His partner is just stuck up for most of the film and then has some personal vendetta to avenger her father's death halfway through the film, only to get killed, which is bold but makes her already thin character arc even more superficial.
Her death is supposed to be motivational for Fassbender's character but since they have zero chemistry together, it's all unengaging and doesn't amount to anything.
The acting is very flat as a whole, no one shows much emotion, they are as cold as the environment they are surrounded in, which seems to be a common style for the director. And when they do emote, like the scene with the dad in the car talking about the girl being his daughter, it's that forced dramatic acting that's used to win Oscars.
JK Simmons is such a poor red herring, his character is literally nothing more than that.
I figured out the real killer's identity on the train scene where he talks with Fassbender, something about him made me feel that he was the killer, it just felt obvious.
The final confrontation with the killer and the ending as a whole was rushed. You get the feeling that they just had to get everything wrapped up as quick as they could.
The editing relied too much on choppy cuts. The cinematography was nice, some great shots of the locations.
Overall, it really does feel like only 60% of the movie was filmed and edited together to give a very unfulfilling and unsatisfying experience with an odd and strange film that leaves you with more questions than answers.
I heard that the film was a mess and I decided to see it for myself if it really was a mess due to being unfinished, and they were right. It's a real unfinished mess all right. The film suffers from a strong lack of focus, the killer's methods are barely fleshed out. Fassbender plays nothing more than a burned out cop cliche.
His partner is just stuck up for most of the film and then has some personal vendetta to avenger her father's death halfway through the film, only to get killed, which is bold but makes her already thin character arc even more superficial.
Her death is supposed to be motivational for Fassbender's character but since they have zero chemistry together, it's all unengaging and doesn't amount to anything.
The acting is very flat as a whole, no one shows much emotion, they are as cold as the environment they are surrounded in, which seems to be a common style for the director. And when they do emote, like the scene with the dad in the car talking about the girl being his daughter, it's that forced dramatic acting that's used to win Oscars.
JK Simmons is such a poor red herring, his character is literally nothing more than that.
I figured out the real killer's identity on the train scene where he talks with Fassbender, something about him made me feel that he was the killer, it just felt obvious.
The final confrontation with the killer and the ending as a whole was rushed. You get the feeling that they just had to get everything wrapped up as quick as they could.
The editing relied too much on choppy cuts. The cinematography was nice, some great shots of the locations.
Overall, it really does feel like only 60% of the movie was filmed and edited together to give a very unfulfilling and unsatisfying experience with an odd and strange film that leaves you with more questions than answers.