Smilla's Sense of Snow

REVIEW
This very disappointing adaptation of Peter Høeg's best-selling thriller stars Ormond as the titular character, a half Dane, half Greenlander scientist whose obsession with the "accidental" death of a young boy leads her deeper into a web of murder and deception. It would be an undertaking to convey Smilla Jasperen's prickly personality, which was the most intriguing aspect of Høeg's novel. But, instead of a fascinating journey into the convoluted workings of her personality all we get is the icy exterior, a shortcoming that only makes her more perplexing. August shows that he's more at home directing smaller, more personal movies although his locations and sense of mis-en-scène provide the film's best evocation of the book.