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There have been several Scandinavian crime thrillers in recent times that have hit big in the UK, like The Bridge, The Killing and most notably The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo saga.
This latest film from those there parts continues the trend of using the definite article at the start with the nomenclature The Keeper Of Lost Causes, and is none the lesser for it.
It’s based on a series of books called Department Q written by Jussi Adler-Olsen. There are four books so far with a fifth coming out next week. The adventures of Detective Carl Morck and Assad are very popular in the literary world but is there good enough reason for that to translate over to the silver screen?
The start is promising: Detective Carl’s (Nikolaj Lie Kaas) break of protocol in a murder case earns him a stint in a new department dedicated to categorising unsolved cases. He’s given an assistant, Assad (Fares Fares), to help in the administration.
Assad sees this as a progression compared to the stamp-holding job he was doing, this creates a nice juxtaposition of characters that flourishes into an appealing chemistry between the two that doesn’t descend into bromance for a change.
A problem with this relationship is that the time devoted to the two is imbalanced. Lie Kass, who looks like a pock-marked version of Dexter’s Michael C. Hall, with inherent social awkwardness intact, has a much more rounded character than Fares’ Assad. Carl’s wife has left him, his boisterous son moves in, he’s a difficult, obnoxious individual. Compare this to Assad, who you don’t get to know much about except a vague description of his crappy previous job.
This relegates Assad’s role to a Deus Ex Machina who always seems to do the right thing at the right time. I don’t recall his surname being mentioned for cripe’s sake.
I am usually a big fan of films that stick to a 90-minute duration. It’s the perfect amount of time to tell the story without unnecessary excess baggage or filler. But the svelte duration of this film reflects the simplicity of the “mystery”. It might be well made but it does become formulaic: Scene where protagonists get a rollocking off their boss? Check. Red herring in place? Check. And so on.
The film switches between the investigation and the story of the abducted politician and her captor. The suspense generated from this approach will captivate the wannabe detectives but may confound action enthusiasts.
Despite the flaws, I can’t say that you wouldn’t enjoy this film. An American remake will not improve upon this. The characters are good enough to keep your interest to the end, particularly Sonja Richter’s claustrophobically harrowing portrayal of abductee, Merete Lyngaard. The occasional tidbit of humour keeps things ticking along nicely too.
The British version of this book is given the more enigmatic title of Mercy, but you will not be crying for it throughout this film. As my Psychology A-Level teacher would say though, they’ll need to put more meat on the bones for the next one.
The Keeper of Lost Causes is now showing at Picturehouse at FACT. For more information visit the following link: http://bit.ly/1uSt7Gz