The Hypnotist

The Swedes don’t know how to put furniture together before selling it, but they certainly do know how to write thrillers. And they’re getting rather good at adapting those novels into TV series (Wallander) or films (Millennium) too. The Hypnotist looked like it was going to be just OK. It is based on one of the popular books by the married couple who write under the pen name Lars Kepler, and features one Joona Linna as the detective. What’s more, Lasse Hallström (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Chocolat) was convinced to make another Swedish film, his first since 1987. One always has to beware of corniness and prettiness, but you can’t deny he is pretty good at his job. And yet, The Hypnotist is hopelessly flawed. Were it not for having to play the hero during the climax, you could simply cut inspector Joona Linna out of the film. He spends most of his time being irrelevant anyway. Questions like “how is this possible?” and “why doesn’t he do that?” come to mind constantly, and what’s worse, you’re given plenty of time to think about them.

An average episode of Wallander is much more exciting, and you don’t have to leave the couch to enjoy it. It’s a shame because the title character certainly has some potential: an adulterous doctor addicted to strong sleeping pills who goes back on his promise not to hypnotise people anymore after a series of brutal murders.

The Hypnotist ●
SE, 2012, dir.: Lasse Hallström, act.: Tobias Zilliacus, Mikael Persbrandt, 122 min.