Emma Thompson does not give enough kicks. In fact, let me clarify this: Emma Thompson gives a lot of blows, but it would be good if she could literally do, and more often. The biting thriller of Brian Kirk nails “Dead of Winter” gives the Oscar -winning star this rare opportunity, and it gives a kick so strong that it explodes.
But you will not find an ironic detachment or the combat choreography “John Wick” in “Dead of Winter”. Instead, Thompson plays a nice and calm minnesotan named Barb who just wanted to go ice fishing. Instead, she stumbles on a removal route, perpetrated by [checks IMDb] “Purple Lady” and “Camo Jacket”, played by Judy Greer and Marc Menchaca. Their parents must have appointed them after an improvisation game, where they were asked to choose a color and a practical outfit.
Stuck in the middle of nowhere, on an icy lake, and without receipt of a mobile phone (it’s always a film), Barb must decide to escape in the nearest city – two hours by car – or try to save the kidnapped girl, Leah (Laurel Marsden). In some respects, Barb is in its element, because it comes from Minnesota and it is used to cold. In other respects, she is out of her depth, because she is not Arnold Schwarzenegger. She is such a nice lady that she apologizes to an abduction victim when she says the word “damn”.
Why did Purple Lady and Camo jacket kidnap this woman? A lesser film could have said “who cares” and was satisfied with a second -hand secondary intrigue on money or drugs. “Dead of Winter” is a brilliant justification that means that the two bad guys, for various reasons, invested emotionally to the point of self -destruction. Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and the Dalton Leeb’s constructed built-up scenario use each tool for the limited barb elimination, linking everything together in a thoughtful thematic arc.
There are not many revelations in “Dead of Winter”, so leaning too far in the intrigue would be unfair, but the parallels of Kirk’s film translate between Barb and its bad guys, with Leah as a contrary spoiler, gives history a surprising weight. Thompson brings the full measure of his considerable talent to this character, infusing small moments with great feelings and great feelings with small details. Greer corresponds to his note to note, at the opposite end of the spectrum, with a performance which would be exaggerated if it was not – in his way of thinking, at least – completely justified.
If anything, Thompson and Greer are perfect for each other. The two artists perfected the art of sensitivity, giving sympathetic performances, no matter how hard their characters are. They could both play magic nannies, they could both play hilarious spies and they can both cross an icy tundra with loaded weapons and despair. These are great actors who have received the gift from complete and fascinating characters, and they take advantage of them.
And, fortunately, for all of us, the tense and intelligent script is a gift that continues to give. Barb doesn’t have much to work, but she knows that Minnesota, Gosh had to devil it, and she knows how to transform the disadvantages into serious problems. As soon as the villains of the film leave their cabin, Barb sneaks, extinguishes their fire and obtains all their tempered clothes and covers. It may look like a juvenile farce, but it is Minnesota in the “winter dead”, so without at least a good fleece, they will slow down, and perhaps even die.
These small details, the decisions in which only people who live and understand their house would do, give the “winter dead” a rare quality which benefits almost all stories: specificity. Barb could not be found anywhere else in the world. This story could not be told anywhere else either. Of course, many places are freezing, but where you could trip on an abduction, tell the kidnapper that you have noticed blood on the ice, then distance yourself without incident because it did not want to be rude?
“Dead of Winter” is impressive. It’s suspense and intelligent. There are great performance at all levels. This is exactly the type of thriller that we continue to say that we want, again and again, but which never get enough credit (or enough marketing). And unless we are very lucky, I am afraid that it is a cold day to devil before getting more movies like that.
