Movie Review: The Hypnotist (2012) (Hypnotisören)

The Hypnotist (2012) (Hypnotisören) 

Filmpool Nord, Sonet Film, Svensk Filmindustri, Sweden, 2012. 

Based on Lars Kepler's novel "Hypnotisören".

Finnish-born Detective Joona Linna (Tobias Zilliacus) gets the case of murdered physical education teacher Anders Ek. Soon also other members of the Ek family are found murdered. Only injured son Josef (Jonatan Bökman) is found at the crime scene. Doctor Daniella (Helena Af Sandeberg) suggests calling retired hypnotist Erik Bank (Mikael Persbrandt) to get information from Josef. Erik was discredited after hypnotism research project went wrong. There is also a surviving daughter Evelyn Ek (Emma Mehoniç) who is adopted elsewhere and Joona struggles to find her before the killer. 

Joona Linna

Doctor Daniella

Erik Bank

Erik's wife Simone (Lena Olin) does not trust Erik because he was unfaithful some years ago. Then someone kidnaps Erik's son Benjamin (Oscar Pettersson). Are the cases connected and does Erik's past have something to do with the kidnapping? 

Something to be envious of Swedish is that they have managed to find the formula for gripping mystery/crime movies. For Lasse Hallström this is atypically gritty movie as his films are usually warmhearted drama ("What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "The Cider House Rules") or romantic films ("Chocolat", "Dear John"). In the Scandinavian thriller style almost all the characters have family troubles or personal traumas. Bleak images of wintry Sweden adds to the depressive atmosphere. But then it starts to go wrong. The movie changes and omits too much of the book barely scratching the surface of the original story. Possibly it would have worked better as a TV series.

It also seems that Lasse Hallström is outside his comfort area as the drama is messy and the crime story loses its momentum for a long time before quickly tying up necessary amount of loose ends. It leaves too many questions unanswered making our Finnish "Vares" films seem totally coherent. The actors seem uninspired and they sleepwalk through the story. In the end not much is learned about the lives of the characters. And what was the totally pointless date scene with Joona and Daniella? The book was much better and I recommend watching the film first (if you must) and then reading the book to fill the missing parts.

Part of The 2016 Movie Watching Challenge (#49. Thriller about solving a murder case)

Rating:  Bad

Starring: Tobias Zilliacus, Mikael Persbrandt, Lena Olin, Helena Af Sandeberg, Oscar Pettersson, Anna Azcárate, Jonatan Bökman, Jan Waldekranz, Eva Melander, Göran Thorell, Gustav Levin, Tomas Magnusson, Ulf Eklund, Conny Vakare, Emma Mehoniç, Mats Andersson, Simon Mezher, Claes Hartelius, Hedvig Lagerkvist, Robert Follin, Annika Gardeskog, Lea Heed, Lars Hjelm, Peter Eklund, Robert Laurén, Andreas Emilsson, Johan Hallström 

Director: Lasse Hallström