The Absent One (2016)

A Disappointing Continuation

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

For a decade a so, the term "Scandinavian crime" has been a sign of quality in the film world, and I have tried to watch them as much as possible - luckily it is no Bollywood... The film in question is the second one in line (after Kvinden i buret) where the detective duet Carl Mørck and Assad have to solve a felony happening over 20 years back, enabling to take a glance at the world of "Danish rich and spoiled". The tension is nicely there (although somewhat less than in the first film), and, in addition to as-usual fine performances by Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Fares Fares as the leading characters, one can follow the talents of Pilou Asbæk and David Dencik who are also versatile character actors (plus Søren Pilmark in a small role). So, unless you are fond of constant chases, explosions, shootings, etc., this film (with captious title) is a pleasant example of a crime thriller with mystery elements, where human attitudes and relations play the biggest part, and deducing is the main factor in solving crimes.

The fact that I actually bothered to set up an account on this website just to express my disappointment with this film and save you from watching this utter nightmare should already serve as an explanation. I've never left any review anywhere. But this movie made me angry. Very weak, predictable and uninteresting plot, poor, over-dramatic acting made me feel as if I was watching one of the comedies with Leslie Nielsen. Only that this was not supposed to be a comedy... 2 hours wasted. No idea where all those fantastic reviews are from and why this film received more than 2 stars. Wouldn't recommend to my enemy. DONOT WASTE YOUR TIME

Straight off the bat, one of thing that I love about this film, is that it's as much of a stand alone movie as the sequel to The Keeper of Lost Causes / Mercy. The two films are connected but they're about two completely separate cases on which only the investigating team remains. It's kind of like what a TV-Show like Sherlock, for example, if Sherlock was a graphic dark thriller.Much like the first one, Detective Mørck & Assad are the heart of the movie. It's an odd pairing but they're somehow captivating, they keep you focused in the movie despite the less than original plot on this one. You probably already figured out what it's all about by reading the premise but the story works and It has to do with the investigating team. You get attached to them - more so if you've seen the first film - and you want to see this case through.The sequel to The Keeper of Lost Causes / Mercy is a good film, with a predictable story, but it's intriguing, attention-grabbing, and so uninhibited that this classical, run of the mill, thriller feels very fresh. @wornoutspines

The second feature film with cinema release for the Jussi Adler- Olsen novels following "The keeper of lost causes" (originally "Kvinden i buret") is a let down from the first in many ways. The title "The absent one" is again more suitable than the original title Fasandræberne (which is translated Killers of pheasants).Both the director and the main characters are still there, and the plot is interesting enough, maybe even more interesting in the first film. Still I'm afraid. Still this is bargaining to follow up the "nordic noir" label, which is does quite well. This is the gloomy side of Denmark, or Copenhagen, which is never mentioned anywhere in the film. And there's no landmarks of the Danish capitol visible here, either. Indeep if they are trying to depict Copenhagen. Well, never mind.The plot: A drunk, later revealed former police chief approaching detective Carl Mørck, not very interested, until the day after when the same man is found after suicide in his bathtub. He starts following the strange case of the mans two teenage children is killed 20 years ago, very close to a posh boarding school for the rich. No more should be revealed here now.The film manages to get you interested, and is neatly done, like the first which I gave a 7/10 on IMDb. This however grows stale before the first hour has went away. The plot is simply too implausible, at least as shown on the film, implying top connections to most top sides of the Danish society. Many of these threads are not followed up.The Scandinavian title is also very misleading, hence there's hardly any sign of, and surely no mention of pheasants here. OK, we understand that this is case in the novel, and that they are rich hunters. But still this is way off.The main character is also not at all helpless, and this annoys you so much in the end, that it ruins the film for me. I guess the novel treats this way better and more plausible, but here is just too far fetched, even for a film with a two hour run.When it comes to acting, they are all doing a great job, as always in Danish film. That the script here is lacking is a pity, but maybe it was too far much to put into a movie. I guess many scenes ended up on the cutting floor. I admire Nicolaj Arcel for his script writing, but this is far from his best work.A good start for this "cold-case dramatization) with the first film, is pointing down already. Too bad. Or is it possible to hope for a recovering, if there's a third?