DEAD OF WINTER Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: Brian Kirk
Stars: Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Manchaca, Laurel Marsden, Gaia Wise, Bryan F O’Byrne, Lloyd Hutchinson, Cuan Hosty-Blaney, Paul Hamilton.
Set in the remote snow-covered Minnesota wilderness, Dead Of Winter is a gritty Fargo-like crime thriller, albeit without that dark humour that the Coen brothers brought to that 1996 Oscar winning classic. This dark genre piece follows a widow who stumbles across a kidnapping in the remote Minnesota wilderness. The film also manages to turn Oscar winner Emma Thompson into a female Liam Neeson type in a cat and mouse game of survival.
Recently widowed Barb (Thompson) heads out to Lake Hilda to spread her beloved late husband’s ashes. Lake Hilda holds fond memories for Barb as it is the place where she had her first date with her future husband. But with some fierce snowstorms setting in Barb becomes lost. She approaches a remote farmhouse to ask directions and is greeted by an unfriendly man (Marc Menchaca, from Companion, etc). Barb has stumbled onto a kidnapping in process as the man, known only as “Camo Man” and a ruthless woman known only as “Purple Lady” (Judy Greer, from Antman And The Wasp, etc) are holding a teenaged girl captive in their basement. Barb sets out to rescue the girl named Leah (Laurel Marsden, from The Pope’s Exorcist, etc). Apparently Purple Lady is suffering from a terminal illness and is planning to harvest Leah’s kidney for a lifesaving transplant.
In a couple of flashbacks sequences we see the relationship between the younger Barb and her husband. In these scenes the younger version of Barb is played by Gaia Wise, Thompson’s own daughter.
Dead Of Winter is the first feature script written by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson (a composer who has worked on scores for films including Mission: impossible – Ghost Protocol, etc) and Dalton Leeb (an actor who has appeared in tv series including The Well, etc). The film is directed by Brian Kirk (a television director who previously directed the 2019 action thriller 21 Bridges, etc), who makes the most of the snow covered setting to enhance the tension. The film was shot in the snow-covered wilderness of Finland, and the unforgiving location has been nicely captured by the crisp cinematography from Christopher Ross (The Great Escaper, etc). And Volker Bertelmann’s score adds to the sense of tension.
Thompson is largely cast against type as the feisty, resourceful and determined protagonist in this gritty action thriller, but she acquits herself well in a more physical role. Greer, also cast against type, brings a manic quality to her role as her character grows more desperate and dangerously unhinged. The two antagonists remain unnamed, which adds to an element of mystery.
Unfortunately, after nicely ratcheting up the tension and suspense, the film falls apart with its nonsensical climax.
★★★
