IN COLD LIGHT Review: Maika Monroe Is An Ex-Con Back On The Run In Maxime Giroux’s New Crime Thriller
In Cold Light was released theatrically on January 23. The film is currently available on Digital from Saban Films.
Ava (Maika Monroe) is at the end of her rope from the start of Maxime Giroux’s new crime thriller, In Cold Light. Ambushed by a police raid, chased on foot and arrested, the frumpy, ambitious drug dealer ends up two years in the slammer, suffering from panic attacks upon finally being released.
Of course, the freedom she has now feels nothing like the freedom she muses about with her parole officer. Ekeing out a living with janitorial work at the local racetrack where her hearing-impaired and grisled father Will (Troy Kotsur) struggles to maintain his potency as a buckrider, their relationship is as rough as ever, and the only person Ava seems to remotely get along with is her twin brother, Tom (Jesse Irving).
Making matters worse is Ava’s insistence on getting back in charge of her criminal empire, an effort albeit thwarted by changing circumstances after her arrest, alluding to suspicions of betrayal at the hands of Sef (Patrick Sabongui), the guy now running things. It’s enough to aspire anyone toward a murderous rampage, and yet characteristically, not even Ava is capable of that kind of reprisal.
Still, the fact that she wants in on her baby is bad enough. Alas, when crooked lawman Bob (Allan Hawco) waltzes into her life one evening during a seemingly harmless routine traffic stop, Ava is suddenly thrust into an endless night of running with nary a place to hide. Bodies start piling up as high as the trauma that Ava must contend with as the hours roll by, framed for a crime she didn’t commit, and forced to confront her demons in order to protect the people that matter most.
There’s a lot that happens in roughly the first forty minutes of this film and so I run the risk of giving away too much with even the slightest admittance of detail from Giroux’s new movie. What I can say is that Patrick Whistler’s script does wonders for the roles proffered here, and the performances handed from our cast, namely that of Monroe in many moments where she’s in quiet observation of others living their own lives.
It’s a thematic visual that Giroux gently applies to counter the bludgeoning of violent upheaval that kicks off just under a half hour into the film, and from that point on, In Cold Light literally hits the ground running. Co-star Hawco is as charismatic as he is menacing as the crooked cop while Kotsur, who himself is Deaf, delivers easily one of the heartist and poignant performances of any actor. I can also say that Helen Hunt is amazing for the minimal duration her character is present, and as far as the cast goes, that’s really it.
Giroux’s use of strong contours and even heatvision add to the film’s stimilating noir glimmer while we follow Ava on her desperate quest for survival. Her character also befalls a few dream sequences that slow her down, but interestingly add to her development along the way as she comes to terms with her situation.
This is actually the second time I’ve seen Monroe in recent film coverage memory. If you haven’t yet seen her in God Is A Bullet, then consider it a recommendation, but do put In Cold Light on your viewing schedules. Equally entertaining, Giroux’s latest is a gutting, brutal, often unnerving and thrilling tale of survival, introspection, and redemption that won’t leave you out in the…well, cold.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
