Review by Tristan Bishop
The Northern European crime thriller, now commonly referred to as the Nordic Noir, has been quite the hot export in recent years. In much the same way as Germany’s pop art-infused krimi films of the 60s and the stylish and savage Italian gialli which dominated the 70s, these Scandinavian murder tales have defined an era. Ploughing a grittier, moodier furrow than their Southern cousins, these books, TV series and films often play with the theme of corruption and death hidden away beneath the apparently tolerant and socially progressive surfaces of their countries of origin.
The eyes of the world first set upon these wintry crime stories back in 1997, with the runaway success of Erik Skjoldbjaerg’s gripping and grim Insomnia – although apparently the roots of the genre stretch as far back as 19th century novels – and since then there scarcely seems to be a week going by without British TV showing a new series riffing on Wallander/The Bridge et al. Even Hollywood has taken notice, with the highest profile result being David Fincher’s English language remake of The Dragon With The Dragon Tattoo. Now director Lasse Hallstrom, more famous for respectable semi-arthouse fare such as Chocolat, The Cider House Rules and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, has gone back to his Swedish roots for an adaptation of the popular 2009 novel ‘Hypnotisören’ – written by Lars Kepler, incidentally a pseudonym for husband-and-wife writing team Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril.
After a stunning aerial shot depicting a huge burning sun blazing down upon a snow-covered landscape, things quickly jump to the bloody stabbing of a teacher in a school gymnasium. Detective Joona Linna (Tobias Zilliacus) is sent to investigate, but whilst driving home he is called to a second murder scene. It transpires that the teacher’s wife and daughter have also been stabbed to death. However, the killer seems to have left the teacher’s son barely alive. With the boy comatose and in hospital, the only possible witness to the crimes, Joona looks for a way to get through to him. Enter Erik Bark (Mikael Persbrandt), the titular Hypnotist. Erik is a man with a failing marriage and possibly a dark past, but he is considered to be the best at what he does, and with some reluctance he agrees to help Joona in his investigation. Unfortunately the killer seems to know what’s going on, and eventually kidnaps Erik’s son to try and stop the investigation. From then on the takes on a race against time to catch the killer and save the son before the medication for his rare blood disorder runs out…
The story, to my mind, started off as a Swedish twist on the old Argento giallo formula: the hidden clue and the race to unlock it, with the killer hot on the tail of the investigators. Unfortunately, whilst old Dario would have (even in his worst films) peppered the journey with hallucinatory set pieces and vicious murders, this isn’t how this one plays out. This is certainly a departure for director Hallstrom, as the warm feeling of his previous hits is replaced by a bleak, methodical approach to direction. There are a few moments of stunning artistry here (notably the aforementioned opening shots) but the film takes a dour, humourless approach. There’s a lot of characterisation in the script by Paolo Vacirca, played to perfection by the actors, but we’re never really allowed to warm to these people; fitting, perhaps, given the cold vistas on show. The pace of the film, especially in the first half, could (if you’ll allow me the stretching of an obvious metaphor) be described as glacial, and what on the page is apparently a twisting, gripping narrative turns into, well, frankly a bit of a bore. Between the opening moments and the closing sequence there is nary a bit of action, and unless you’re a fan of Scandinavians with hidden secrets looking moody and angular then you might well be tempted to skip ahead.
Fortunately, The Hypnotist does actually reward you; in the final twenty minutes or so the film kicks into gear and starts to deliver what you might expect from a dark thriller helmed by a respected director. The climactic sequence in particular is tense and exciting in a way that recalls a small-scale Hitchcock climax. However, the deathly pace and dourness of the preceeding film makes it very difficult to recommend for the casual viewer who isn’t yet in thrall to the charms of the Nordic Noir.
The Hypnotist is released to UK DVD on 15th September, from Studiocanal.