: Cold Weather
This was filmed here in Portland, Oregon, and the plot sounded a little bit like my own novel, Protecting Claudia, in the sense that it’s about a missing person in Portland, so I was really curious about it. It turned out to be nothing at all like my book, in tone or the mystery. The story is very simple: a young man who’s been going to school studying criminal forensics in Chicago drops out and returns home to Portland and moves in with his sister and gets a job loading bags of ice at an ice factory. When his ex-girlfriend disappears, he tries to find out what happened to her.
That sounds interesting, but there are two problems with the story. One is that very little happens and the pace of this movie makes glacial seem like the speed of light. It’s incredibly slow moving, with some scenes where people just sit and stare at the sunset for several minutes (it feels like hours). Watching seeds sprout would be more interesting. There are also many realistic but very dull conversations that seem to serve no purpose in moving the story forward. The girl doesn’t even disappear until halfway through the film — I’m not even sure why we needed any of the stuff that happened before that.
The other problem with the story is that there isn’t one. There are one or two clever bits of detective work, but the ultimate mystery isn’t really anything and the resolution is quick with an abrupt ending that’s practically in the middle of a sentence. It left me baffled about the entire point of the film.
Another thing that annoyed me was the main character, supposedly a Sherlock Holmes fan and forensic scientist, was strangely slow to investigate anything. He argues with his friend against searching for the missing girl, and he never seemed very proactive about anything. He eventually came up with one or two things that showed some intelligence, but like the whole film, he was slow about it, and that seemed odd if that’s his interest and potential career. (I love mysteries and if someone came and told me someone I knew was missing, I’d rush to look at their room for clues, and I’m not even studying criminology or anything.)
In this end this is a low-key, low-budget, quirky little story that has a few good moments. It’s well-shot and acted, and it’s interesting if you’re a local and recognize some of the places, but most people are going to be put off by the dull pace and slow story.
Topic: [/movie] |
