COLD COMES THE NIGHT – The SLIFF 2013 Review

Review by Dana Jung

Alice Eve does a complete reversal from her more glamorous roles in STAR TREK and MEN IN BLACK 3 to lead an excellent cast in the modern noir thriller COLD COMES THE NIGHT. Eve plays Chloe, a single mom trying to make a decent life by managing a run-down motel where she also lives with her young daughter. The place caters to prostitutes and low-lifes and is not the ideal environment for the child, but Chloe’s relationship with her daughter is a loving one, and she even tries to make their drab existence fun—by telling the girl she has more bathrooms than Windsor Castle. But when a social services agent tells her she has two weeks to move or risk losing her child to foster care, a new level of desperation creeps into Chloe’s reality. Then a double homicide occurs at her motel that begins a chain of increasingly violent events that Chloe must use her wits to navigate and survive.

COLD contains all the elements familiar to noir films, but director Tze Chun manages to sustain a high level of tension throughout. Shot in muted colors to emphasize not only the noirish quality but also the dreariness of life at the motel, the movie has a few surprises sprinkled along the way that never seem forced, letting the story unfold at a nice steady pace. The cast is all aces as well. Eve is wonderful portraying a lonely woman who’s had a rough deal, and sees a chance for a way out. Wearing very little makeup and formless neutral clothing, Eve engenders our sympathy immediately as the devoted mother. Her guile is matched by her frustration, and we are rooting for her every step of the way. Bryan Cranston (BREAKING BAD), displaying an impeccable Slavic accent, is also on hand as a Russian “courier” who is simply six feet of pure menace—but manages a spot or two of bleak humor. Logan Marshall Green (PROMETHEUS) is also outstanding as a crooked cop.

Though COLD COMES THE NIGHT may lack the cinematic flair and artistry of a Brian DePalma or Coen Brothers piece, it certainly delivers a suspenseful, nerve-tingling thriller full of fine performances.

COLD COMES THE NIGHT screens Friday November 15th at 9:30pm at The Tivoli Theater as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival

Ticket information can be found HERE

http://www.cinemastlouis.org/cold-comes-night