The Postcard Killings

The Postcard Killings
Film poster
Directed by	Danis Tanović
Screenplay by	Tove Alsterdal Ellen Brown Furman Liza Marklund Andrew Stern Tena Štivičić
Based on	The Postcard Killers by Liza Marklund and James Patterson
Produced by	Paul Brennan Tracey Edmonds Leopoldo Gout Anna Sofia Mörck Peter Nelson James Patterson Miriam Segal Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Starring	Jeffrey Dean Morgan Famke Janssen Cush Jumbo
Cinematography	Salvatore Totino
Edited by	Sean Barton
Music by	Simon Lacey
Production company	Good Films Collective
Distributed by	RLJE Films
Release date	March 13, 2020 (2020-03-13)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$181,415[1]

The Postcard Killings is a 2020 American crime film directed by Danis Tanović, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen and Cush Jumbo, and based on the 2010 novel The Postcard Killers by James Patterson and Liza Marklund.^[2][3] The film was released on March 13, 2020, receiving negative reviews from critics.

Premise

Jacob Kanon, a New York detective, investigates the death of his daughter who was murdered while on her honeymoon; he recruits the help of an American journalist working in Sweden, Dessie Lombard, when other couples throughout Europe suffer a similar fate.

The movie opens with someone killing a young couple. It turns out to be Jacob Kanon's daughter and her husband who are in London on their honeymoon. He goes to London to identify the bodies of his daughter and her new husband at the morgue.

After that Kanon begins an investigation into the identity of the killer. The investigation expands to other European cities as the killer doesn't stop. With the help of Lombard and a German policeman he exposes the truth and understands what's going on.

Cast

• Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Jacob Kanon
• Famke Janssen as Valerie Kanon
• Cush Jumbo as Désirée “Dessie” Lombard
• Joachim Król as Inspector Klaus Bublitz
• Steven Mackintosh as Rupert Pearce
• Naomi Battrick as Sylvia Randolph / Marina Haysmith
• Ruairi O'Connor as Mac Randolph / Simon Haysmith
• Denis O'Hare as Simon Haysmith
• Eva Röse as DS Agneta Hoglund
• Sallie Harmsen as Nienke
• Orla O'Rourke as Nancy
• Christopher Pizzey as Charles Hardwick

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 25% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10.^[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 29 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[5]

Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "The filmmakers are clearly hoping that Patterson's name will be enough to attract moviegoers, but this misbegotten effort only serves to further tarnish a cinematic brand already diminished by 2012's Tyler Perry-starrer Alex Cross."^[6] Dennis Harvey of Variety said: "This uninspired detour into impersonally commercial English-language terrain for Bosnian director Danis Tanovic (an Oscar winner for 2001's No Man's Land) should provide Patterson's fans and undemanding miscellaneous viewers with an acceptably slick if not-particularly-suspenseful crime potboiler for home viewing."^[7] Brian Costello of Common Sense Media awarded the film three stars out of five.^[8]

Sequel

A sequel, entitled The Postcard Killer, was announced in May 2024. Renny Harlin is attached to direct, while Morgan and Janssen will reprise their roles. Filming was set to begin in fall 2024 in London, Madrid, Florence and Latvia,^[9] but was later pushed to January 2025.^[10]

References

1. "The Postcard Killings".
2. LePire, Bobby (8 April 2020). "The Postcard Killings". Film Threat. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
3. Hipes, Patrick (16 January 2020). "Jeffrey Dean Morgan Thriller 'The Postcard Killings' To Hit Theaters In March Via RLJE Films". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
4. "The Postcard Killings (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
5. "The Postcard Killings Reviews". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
6. Scheck, Frank (12 March 2020). "'The Postcard Killings': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
7. Harvey, Dennis (12 March 2020). "'The Postcard Killings': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
8. Costello, Brian (13 March 2020). "The Postcard Killings". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
9. Kay, Jeremy (May 15, 2024). "Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen to star in Renny Harlin's 'The Postcard Killer' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
10. https://x.com/JDMorgan/status/1848070666064371769

External links

• The Postcard Killings at IMDb
• The Postcard Killings at Rotten Tomatoes