The cast is what they used to call one of “International All-Stars.” Aside from Fassbender, there’s the engaging Rebecca Ferguson as Bratt. In point of fact, I don’t think the genius part ever emerges. One of the movie’s many problems is that the viewer is treated to much more of the mess part than the genius part.

A little later on in the picture, Katrine Bratt, who becomes Harry’s unofficial partner on a serial killer case, tells him that she studied his cases in “the academy.” Harry’s a genius detective whose personal life is an utter mess. Heckuva way for a cop to conduct himself, but Harry’s a special cop. Cut to the present day, and Harry is sleeping off a drunk in a bus shelter. Things go from bad to worse, and eventually a Volvo sinks into a lake, and a kid is left homeless. And there the man administers a test to the boy, slapping the mother every time the kid gets a question wrong. In a large cabin in a snow-covered field, a man in a police car visits a young boy and his mother. The scene is shot with what appears to be a lilac petal dangling in front of the lens. The movie begins with what turns out to be a flashback. Why they couldn’t have just called him Harry Chasm or Harry Abyss is beyond me. I myself cannot quite figure it out.Īdapted from the bestselling mystery novel by Jø Nesbo, the movie stars Michael Fassbender as a Norwegian police detective with the much-already-remarked-upon name Harry Hole.

Perhaps by that time sufficient evidence will have been gathered to explain just why a movie assembled by a group of mostly first-rate talents wound up such a soggy, slushy mess. In the year 2075, if man is still alive, if woman can survive, and they start writing histories of 21st century cinema, “The Snowman” will make a very excellent case study.

Summary of a long petal of the sea