Sweden puts Robert De Niro’s new thriller at number one
A widower asks the father he barely speaks to for help finding his kidnapped son. That grim family reunion now sits at number one on Netflix’s daily film chart in Sweden, while critics remain sharply divided over whether it is worth nearly two hours.
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The Whisper Man is a 2026 thriller starring Adam Scott as widowed crime writer Tom Kennedy and Robert De Niro as Pete Willis, Tom’s estranged father and a retired detective. When Tom’s young son vanishes, the two men are pulled towards a new case connected to a serial killer Pete caught years earlier. Michelle Monaghan plays detective Amanda Beck, while Michael Keaton appears as the imprisoned killer.
The film is available on Netflix in Sweden with Swedish subtitles. On Wednesday, 2 September, FlixPatrol’s chart placed it first among films on the service in Sweden, ahead of The Secret Woman and The Perfect Patient. Netflix’s latest weekly global list placed it second among English-language films, with 23.2 million views from 24 to 30 August.
Those numbers make the argument around the film more interesting than a simple hit-or-miss verdict. William Bibbiani at TheWrap saw an above-average return to the serious serial-killer thrillers of the 1990s. He found it predictable but satisfying, praised Scott’s emotional work and judged parts of it genuinely creepy.
Benjamin Lee at The Guardian reached almost the opposite conclusion. His one-star review argued that the familiar clues, gloomy rooms and sinister nursery-rhyme devices never build towards a strong surprise. He also found De Niro disengaged and the final act short of suspense.
The disagreement is useful because both critics are describing the same deliberate throwback. The Whisper Man has the ingredients of an old studio thriller: an estranged family, a jailed murderer, a child in danger and a detective who must reopen the worst case of his career. The choice is whether that familiarity feels comforting or tired. Viewers hoping for a dense puzzle may be frustrated; people who miss solemn, star-led crime films may be more forgiving.
The film also changes the shape of Alex North’s 2019 novel. In a Netflix interview, North and director James Ashcroft explain that the screen version moves the kidnapping earlier, giving Pete and Tom more time to investigate together. It also shifts the action from Britain to the northeastern United States. North said the book’s father-and-son concerns grew from his own experience of becoming a parent.
That family thread may be the fairest test. The plot promises a hunt for a killer, but the adaptation gives its longest attention to men who have failed each other and are forced back into the same room. Even the favourable review stops short of calling the mystery brilliant. The film’s real wager is that De Niro and Scott can make an old formula feel personal.
Sweden’s chart has already supplied the curiosity. The critics have supplied fair warning. If a slow, gloomy thriller with familiar machinery sounds like comfort viewing, The Whisper Man is ready. If a serial-killer story needs a startling solution to earn two hours, its whisper may not be loud enough.
DailySweden Lifestyle Desk
DailySweden Lifestyle Desk writes for DailySweden.
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