Maxime Giroux’s ‘In Cold Light’ reviewed as bleak, uneven thriller

A New York Times review describes In Cold Light, directed by Maxime Giroux and starring Maika Monroe, as a dreary thriller and an "unfortunate misfire." The review noted an 11th-hour appearance by Helen Hunt as a welcome respite.

The film follows Ava (Maika Monroe), who, after serving two years for drug dealing, returns to resume control of the criminal enterprise her twin brother (Jesse Irving) is running. The review lists obstacles that complicate her efforts: a rival gang, a false murder charge, a corrupt police force, unresolved issues with her rodeo-riding father (the Oscar winner Troy Kotsur) and a newly fatherless infant.

The review criticizes Patrick Whistler’s script as muddy and says the film hustles from one violent act to the next with only the flimsiest narrative throughline, noting there is no single sympathetic character and that the talents of Kotsur and Monroe are ill-served. It praises cinematographer Sara Mishara for striving to enliven the movie’s gritty locations, citing a reflection shot and a symbolic image of a lone bull.

The review records the film’s rating as R "for OxyContin in the glove box and a bullet in the brain," and gives the running time as 1 hour 36 minutes. The reviewer frames the movie as the latest from the French Canadian director and implies its bleak mood outweighs its successes.

Key Topics

Culture, Maxime Giroux, Maika Monroe, Helen Hunt, Troy Kotsur, Sara Mishara