22/01/2026 - Jonas Lawes makes his directorial debut with a quaint, well-acted chamber play cast in the mould of a thriller about the theft of a valuable pocket watch

It’s February 1968, and two young men are preparing to make the biggest earnings of their lives after committing a lucrative heist. Actor-turned-director Jonas Lawes makes his feature debut with The Watchmaker, a period thriller with a screenplay penned by Lawes himself and Sebastian Secker Walker. A chamber play shot in Skellefteå, northern Sweden, The Watchmaker has just celebrated its world premiere as the opening work in the Films from the North section, the Tromsø International Film Festival’s flagship sidebar.

After stealing a valuable watch for an anonymous client, the timid, moustachioed Adam (Casper Berglund) and wannabe gangster Sebbe (Otto Fahlgren) must take it for repair before the night ends, leading them to the titular figure, a quiet and measured watchmaker named Karl (Olle Sarri). Things begin to go awry when Karl’s girlfriend, Hedda (Hanna Alström), shows up and the young men’s tracks are slowly traced by the notorious individual from whom they stole the watch: the mysterious Arto (Finnish actor Jarmo Mäkinen).

With Karl’s watch shop lit predominantly by yellow-tinted lamps on the walls, casting an almost entirely sepia shadow across the film, it’s not fully convincing that the action is set in the 1960s. The music by Mikael Israelsson is too omnipresent, running like an undercurrent during the most dramatic moments, with scoring that seeks to tell us how to feel, rather than complementing the story.

The performances are ultimately where the work shines, with a focus on Fahlgren’s Sebbe, who fancies himself as a hotshot criminal despite his baby-faced features and youth. Nobody seems to believe that he was in and out of jail – or that he has the capacity to shoot and kill, for that matter – and Fahlgren plays the role with a graceful balance of insecurity and faux tough-guy machismo. Alström (known for her role as Princess Tilde in the Kingsman [+see also:
trailer
film profile] franchise) also has her chance to shift the film more towards its emotional roots when it’s Hedda’s moment to speak with Adam, leading him to question whether Sebbe intends to also take advantage of him.

As the film unveils its secrets and more partial plot twists are revealed, the stakes become more enticing. However, with a length of under 80 minutes, the movie regrettably has little chance to dive into any of the interpersonal dynamics that are teased: the dynamics between Adam and his grandparents, Sebbe’s backstory, Hedda’s family background and who exactly Arto is, to name but a few. Regardless, for its quaint production design and thoughtfully crafted characters, The Watchmaker is a respectable feature for Lawes and his outfit Seize the Frame (co-run with DoP Niklas Åkerlund), even if many of the period and genre elements feel too ambitious for the scope of the work.

The Watchmaker is a Swedish production by David Berglund and Seize the Frame.