Leofwine_draca A straightforward Swedish crime thriller starring Mikael Persbrandt, of HAMILTON fame. The story is based on a novel and I'm reliably informed that, as per usual, much of the best material was cut out, leaving this a distinctly average addition to the genre.The story begins with a brutal massacre in which an entire family are slaughtered by an unknown assailant. The exasperated police then call in a renowned hypnotist in order to bring the sole survivor out of a coma and find out details of the perpetrator. Much is made of the hypnotism angle but truthfully it only occurs a couple of times in the movie and feels rather wasted as an angle.THE HYPNOTIST suffers from a lack of interesting characters, particularly the investigating detective who's as bland as they come. Lena Olin is incredibly annoying as Persbrandt's harridan of a wife, and only Persbrandt himself retains sympathy for the viewer. The storyline isn't bad, and it does have a sufficiently dark and vicious edge, but director Lasse Hallstrom does a workmanlike job at best and should stick to the insufferable likes of CHOCOLAT.

kosmasp The title might be a little bit off, if you think about what the movie is really about. But that shouldn't put you off it. The story is more than neat and it's more than good to see such dramas/thrillers coming out of Europe. Especially because some of them have a new take on things, which makes for an interesting watch.If you have seen a few movies from Sweden, you might even recognize an actor or two. But that is not the point of the movie! The movie that tangles and plays around with a few characters and their story lines, does so in a good way. It never gets too complicated and it never feels like things are in there to fill the running time. Good actors and a good nice story make this a movie to watch

Laakbaar The current rating on IMDb is too low. This is an enjoyable enough film. It's certainly worth taking in, especially if you're into crime dramas.The plot is fairly straightforward. Three members of a family are brutally killed, only the oldest boy surviving. He's in a coma though. Police investigator Joona Linna (played by Tobias Zilliacus) ends up investigating the crime. He gets a doctor to come in to hypnotise the boy to identify his assailant, and the doctor succeeds in doing so. (It is apparently possible for comatose patients to talk under hypnosis.) But then the doctor and his family become caught up in the drama. Will the killer be stopped? It's a good, simple story. The start and end of the movie in particular are quite strong. The climactic scene at the isolated farm was unexpected and the best part of the movie. Spectacular filmmaking really. It had me on the edge of my seat.The acting was fine. There's a lot of character development involving Joona Linna, Erik Maria Bark (played by Mikael Persbrandt) and his wife Simone (played by Lena Olin). The movie is called "The Hypnotist" but I didn't really see the doctor as being at the centre of the movie.This is a slow paced movie, a little too slow for me at times. That might be why people have not rated it higher.Most of the events take place in a hospital and three homes. There are a lot of shots of wintry Stockholm, a suitable backdrop I suppose for a dark Scandinavian crime drama. I enjoyed what I assume is a realistic portrayal of Swedish life. The dialogue was in Swedish, with subtitles. Everything in the movie seemed rather understated and starkly realistic. This is not a grand Sweden of magic and beauty. As you might expect in a thoroughly Swedish movie, mental illness and human foibles are the major crime themes. No Hollywood moralising here about good and evil, right and wrong. Bias disclosure: This is not my favourite genre. I know next to nothing about Scandinavian crime novels, television shows and movies. I haven't even yet read the Larsson "Girl" trilogy, although my sister gave it to me two years ago. Even most American or British crime shows don't interest me, although I am an avid fan of Law & Order.Also, I went to see this movie without knowing anything about it. Haven't read the book. I didn't even know it was a Swedish movie. Even so, I thought it was OK. You might too.

OJT Saw this at the world premiere expecting another Swedish TV-drama, of which the Swedes are so good at making, though I'm a bit bored of the mass production of them. This, however, is directed by Lasse Hallstrom, which I think is an interesting director. Maybe Sweden's best, behind "What's eating Gilbert Grape", "My life as a dog", "The Ciderhouse rules", "Chocolate" and "An unfinished life". Being married to Lena Olin, no wonder he has a good touch directing her.A viewer watching this film after Watching Danish/Swdish "Broen" (The Bridge") or other recent Nordic crime stories must think Sweden is a dark, moody and dreary winter-Siberia. I didn't read the novel from which this is based upon by the pseudonym Lars Kepler, written by the married couple Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril. It was a great sales success, but received bland critics.Nor will I read it after watching this, I can promise, but it surprises me that those reading this in beforehand will have any pleasure seeing this after wards either. The whole story must be given away. Or should I say stories, because it's at least three of them here. That is also some of the films many problems. it seems like the two writers couldn't decide between please and pain, or which story they wanted to tell here.When that is said, the acting performances are really god. Persbrandt is good, and especially Olin is amazing. A really believable stung housewife losing her child. This is the strongest part of the film. What ruins this is not the dark feeling, but the story. It's simply not easy to believe so much of this. It all goes over bend a little over half way through the film, and then 134 minutes is too long. I'm sorry to say that you end up waiting for it to end, and worse is that you don't get to know why either. But instead a great ending with a happy family. But what about the meaning of all this? Well, that's down to the script makers. Not One of Hallstroms best, maybe his worst, as I see that his bottom rating on IMDb after 26 movies is a 30 year old film, rating 5,44.