This Crime Thriller Book Deserves A Better Movie Adaptation Than The Awful One We Got

Universal Pictures

Tomas Alfredson made two of the best films of the 21st Century, breaking his own rules to make "Let the Right One In" and doing John le Carré justice with "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." Both also represented two of the best book adaptations ever made. Then, he inexplicably made one of the worst. 2017's "The Snowman" was based on Jo Nesbø's 2007 novel of the same name and was a historic failure on every front. That's a shame not only because Alfredson has an otherwise stellar record, but because the book is a great crime novel that deserved better — and could perhaps still get it.

The seventh in a novel series focusing on Oslo police inspector Harry Hole, "The Snowman" follows its protagonist as he tracks a serial killer who leaves snowmen at murder sites. It's a taut, well-paced novel told using limpid prose that makes the book's version of Oslo and Hole himself feel consistently authentic. The film, however, failed to capture any of that, becoming an infamous blunder that made for an ignoble inaugural Harry Hole adaptation.

Alfredson's "The Snowman" made $43 million on a $35 million budget, which was hardly a success. Still, films have bombed much harder. What you can't make any excuses for, however, is that lowly 7% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers simply weren't impressed with Alfredson's film, panning it for everything from the bewildering editing to the dull pacing and clichéd plot. Jonathan Romney of Film Comment even opined that the film might have represented "the last gasp of Scandi-noir for the international market."

But while fans of the book were frustrated by many of those same issues, the biggest disappointment was that Alfredson's film left out so much of what made the original story so engaging.

Universal Pictures

"The Snowman" starred Michael Fassbender as Harry Hole, who alongside new recruit Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson) investigates the disappearance of a woman named Birte Becker. At her home, they find a snowman, beginning a cat-and-mouse game between Hole and a serial killer who's preparing to strike again. It could have been great, but "The Snowman" was a huge disappointment, not least for fans of the novel. 

Tomas Alfredson blamed the film's shortcomings on a less than forgiving production schedule, telling The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation:

"We had a much too short shooting period in Norway. We didn't get the whole story, and when we got to the cutting room, we discovered that a lot was missing. It's like when you put together a big puzzle, and then pieces are missing that prevent you from seeing the whole picture."

The "Snowman" director even claimed that as much as 15% of the script was never actually filmed, which isn't hard to believe given the final product was hardly one of the best detective movies ever made.

Still, there's a sense that even with the extra scenes added, "The Snowman" missed the mark. For one thing, Ferguson's Bratt is nowhere near as complex and layered as she is in the book. But the film also makes significant changes to the original story which offer no benefit and often actively degrade the overall narrative. A whole section involving Bratt as a suspect is missing and even more egregious is the fact the film changes the killer's underlying motivation entirely. The book also contains some interesting details such as Hole using a unique method involving a syringe to prove a suspect was murdered and had not committed suicide. Again, none of it is in the movie.

Universal Pictures

Since "The Snowman" we've had several other adaptations of Jo Nesbø books. 2022's "The Hanging Sun" was based on the 2015 novel "Midnight Sun" and 2024's "Killer Heat" was based on the short story "The Jealousy Man." Neither were triumphs, with "The Jealousy Man" nearing "Snowman" levels of critical derision. Still, Tomas Alfredson's film remains the most disheartening Nesbo adaptation due to the fact it was based on one of the very best Nesbø stories.

A lot of great books are set to become movies in 2026, and while it hasn't quite been a decade since "The Snowman," the sheer levels of disappointment associated with that film almost require a more worthy adaptation be made as soon as possible. There is hope. In 2026 we got Season 1 of the Netflix series "Jo Nesbø's Detective Hole." The show — which is written and executive produced by the author himself — adapts the fifth Harry Hole book, "The Devil's Star" and stars Tobias Santelmann in the lead role opposite Joel Kinnaman as Tom Waaler. Though it flew somewhat under the radar — at least outside of Norway — the show managed an impressive 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, becoming one of the best detective shows on Netflix and finally gave Harry Hole the on-screen treatment he deserved.

Even still, "The Snowman" is arguably the best of the book series and remains in need of a worthy adaptation. Whether we'll see that as part of the series remains unclear at this point but it needs to happen either on the small or big screen.