Norwegian crime novelist Jo Nesbo has spent years putting out bestsellers that never seem to make it make it to the big screen, but that’s about to change with The Snowman, an American adaptation starring his hard-bitten detective hero Harry Hole. (We know what you’re thinking, but it’s pronounced “hoo-leh.”) Anyway, the international trailer offers a hint as to what to expect, and it’s some promising stuff.
The plot revolves around the title serial killer, who goes around chopping people up with piano wire. Hole (Michael Fassbinder) is an experienced detective who’s been piecing together the Snowman’s past and motivations for years. But the killer was thought dead until a new victim turns up, and the Snowman begins playing a cat-and-mouse game with Hole, who not unreasonably begins losing it as he keeps stumbling over body parts and vicious clues.
The background of the movie is almost as interesting as the story. It was originally Martin Scorsese’s next movie, but Scorsese had to step away from the director’s chair. It was then taken on by Tomas Alfredson, known for the touching vampire movie Let The Right One In and one of the best adaptations of John Le Carre, the 2011 version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which was the last we saw of Alfredson on screens until now. We’ll see just what he has for us when The Snowman arrives October 13th.
