The Snowman (2017)
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A haunted detective tracks a serial killer who leaves snowmen at his crime scenes.
The story
Years after a tragic incident involving an abusive father and a car crash into a lake, inspector Harry Hole of the Norwegian Police Service's Oslo district receives a mysterious letter with a childlike drawing of a snowman. He joins forces with a new recruit, Katrine Bratt, to investigate the disappearance of Birte Becker. The pair discovers a snowman at the victim's home, leading them into a dark web of missing persons cases. As they delve deeper, they uncover links to a high-class prostitution ring and a corrupt businessman, while Katrine begins to suspect a connection to a cold case from nine years prior.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The story begins with a boy and his mother, Sarah, being visited by the boy's abusive biological father, Jonas, a police officer. After Jonas assaults Sarah, she attempts to flee with her son, but she falls into a catatonic state and sinks into a lake while the boy escapes. Years later, Inspector Harry Hole, struggling with alcoholism, receives a letter with a snowman drawing. He and recruit Katrine Bratt investigate the disappearance of Birte Becker, finding a snowman at her home. Katrine reveals she is searching for links to a nine-year-old cold case. They find Sylvia Otterson alive, but she is later murdered by a masked figure, her head placed atop a snowman. The investigation leads them to a prostitution ring run by Dr. Vetlesen and a businessman named Arve Støp. Katrine discovers she is the daughter of the inspector who handled the cold case, Gert Rafto. After Vetlesen is found dead, Katrine attempts to trick Støp, but she is attacked and killed. Harry eventually discovers that Mathias, Rakel's new boyfriend, is the boy from the opening scene. Mathias kidnaps Rakel and Harry's loved one, Oleg. In a final confrontation in Telemark, Harry frees Rakel but loses a finger. Mathias falls into a frozen lake to his death. Harry ends the film with a metal prosthesis on his missing finger.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 119
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; United States; Sweden
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Tomas Alfredson
- Writers
- Peter Straughan · screenplay; Hossein Amini · screenplay; Søren Sveistrup · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Michael Fassbender · Detective Harry Hole; Rebecca Ferguson · Katrine Bratt; Charlotte Gainsbourg · Rakel Fauke; Val Kilmer · Gert Rafto; J. K. Simmons · Arve Støp; Toby Jones · Investigator Svenson; Adrian Dunbar · Frederick Aasen; David Dencik · Idar Vetlesen
- Genres
- psychological thriller; crime thriller
- Themes
- Father obsession; Son obsession; Alcoholism
- Tone and mood
- Psychological; Grim; Scandinavian noir
- Premise and plot tags
- Serial killer; Police procedural; Mystery; Crime
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2007 novel of the same name by Jo Nesbø
- Reception
- The film was widely panned by critics and underperformed at the box office, with many describing it as incoherent and a disappointment compared to its source material.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 7% · review count: 197; Metacritic · score: 23 · scale: 100 · review count: 40; CinemaScore · score: D · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was inspired by the success of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).; The poster featuring a child-like drawn doodle of a snowman and a note to the police became a popular Internet meme.; Jo Nesbø was supposed to have a small cameo, but his scenes were cut.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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