After a young woman and her parents are murdered by a killer determined to wipe out the entire family, Detective Inspector Joona Linna works with a psychiatrist to hypnotize the son who narrowly escaped death in order to find the one surviving daughter before the murderer does.
Acting
Mikael Persbrandt carries the weight of a thousand therapy sessions.
Cinematography
Bleak Swedish winter becomes another character.
Director
Lasse Hallström
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lasse Hallström left his usual comfort zone (Chocolat, Cider House Rules) for this, his first and only crime thriller. The result? Critics called it 'beautiful but hollow' and it flopped hard.
Based on Lars Kepler's bestselling novel, the Joona Linna series became a Swedish phenomenon—but this adaptation killed the franchise's Hollywood hopes. The 'broken ice' title drop refers to a crucial hypnosis metaphor that the film barely explains.
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