The Snowman Review

The Snowman is a 2017 crime thriller directed by Tomas Alfredson (Let The Right One In, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), and starring Michael Fassbender and Rebecca Ferguson as crime partners tracking down a mysterious killer who builds snowmen at the scene of the crime. He's trying to deal with alcoholism and to connect with his son, while she has her own personal reasons to be on the case. The story is based on the novel of the same name by Jo Nesbo.

This film was a huge disappointment. The creative team behind it, and the actors in the film, do the best that they can. However, the writing of this film is terrible. The dialogue is laughably bad in some occasions. Sometimes, it feels like the script was never developed past its first draft. Because the dialogue is so perfunctory and basic, it makes it very difficult to get invested in the plot.

There are also some incredibly odd scenes in this film. I won't spoil anything, but often the stuff on the screen feels so strange because of the huge tonal shifts from one scene to the next. It's as if the writers couldn't figure out what kind of film they were trying to make. It's partly a family drama, partly a crime thriller, and sometimes an (unintentional?) comedy. Although Tomas Alfredson is an incredibly competent director, so much of this film just doesn't work.

I will say that the cinematography in this film is pretty gorgeous. Even in the more disturbing scenes, every shot is brilliantly lit and well-designed. But it's just not enough to make The Snowman worth watching. On the whole, this is an incredibly dull and plodding film, and even the most faithful viewers of the crime thriller genre will find very little to enjoy here.

Score: D-