Directed by:
Mikkel NørgaardScreenplay:
Nikolaj ArcelCinematography:
Eric KressCast:
Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Fares Fares, Sonja Richter, Peter Plaugborg, Per Scheel-Krüger, Troels Lyby, Øyvind B. Fabricius Holm, Søren Pilmark, Divya Das (more)Plots(1)
A shocking cold case heats up when maverick detective Carl Morck is put on the job in the riveting first film in the Department Q series. (AMC+)
Videos (1)
Reviews (8)
A screenplay for a decent TV detective film adapted to the big screen by adding attractive visuals and a stellar cast.
However, the film is merely average due to the absence of moments of surprise, its simple story and the presence of
genre clichés. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was more sophisticated and multilayered.
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A very model, stylish, even pre-stylized detective story, which replaces the view, sarcasm and momentum of the original with a number of formal and motive clichés. Mikkel Nørgaard has his finger on the pulse of the time period, because he participated in the serial political drama Borgen. Compared to the horribly cowardly and impotent film The Hypnotist, The Keeper of Lost Causes is much more photogenic, fiercer, and sharper, though sometimes there are attempts to make the viewer feel out of balance unnecessarily beyond self-purpose. I have a more fundamental problem with the character of Carl, who in the film version is a textbook example of a Nordic loner and a guy with depression... but the book prototype is much more humorous and lively, which distinguishes him from the generic stack of frowning guys on vodka with Xanax. Lie Kaas may be able to play his star power at home, but his Carl is simply not an interesting character, and the protagonist's interaction with his film partner Assad is at about a quarter of the throttle compared to the book. I could easily imagine this detective story being a little longer, bolder and more pampered. If the creators focused as much attention on the characters that they do on tearing out teeth, the film could be more than a solid series pilot with a metrosexual visual. [65%]
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I feel like once you fall in love with Scandinavian crime investigation movies, that love never fades away. That’s why it makes me so happy that out of the whole range of books I’ll never manage to read, there’s one that the Scandinavians decided to make into a movie. I didn’t yet manage to get through the Department Q series from Olsen, but The Keeper of LostCauses grabbed my attention at first glance. It was worse when I started watching the movie – it took me about half an hour to get used to Carl. His character was very bland and wishy-washy, but Assad made up for it as his character was likeable from the very beginning. But eventually, I got used to both of them as investigators and what really helped was the story itself, which was outright flawless. The ending was a bit unfinished and half-assed, but I have to give it at least four stars just out of the excitement and joy that the Scandinavians decided to shoot such a movie.
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Another terrific Nordic mystery that feels rather more intimate (e.g. when compared to the Millennium trilogy), but overall an excellent opening to the loose Department Q cold case series. A great main duo that, while fulfilling perhaps every possible genre schema/cliché (the formerly successful, now downgraded investigator with a tendency to alcoholism and the ad hoc assigned partner who comes across as a perfect wimp at first); on the other hand, is one of the supporting elements of the whole narrative and I'm very curious to see the evolution of the two main characters in the next installments.
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If I had seen the film first and didn't know much about the book, it probably wouldn't grab me as much. I could easily imagine this as a very good introduction to a television series. The plot is simple but well-structured, and the characters are interesting and definitely not boring, but as a beginning for a film series, it didn't strike me as particularly strong. Good, but not exceptional.
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