Cold In July

cloud493 wrote: »

One thing I didn't get

The whole getting him to shoot the intruder so Freddie could be declared dead. How could they be sure he'd be killed? And surely the federal government wouldn't actually sponsor the kind of things they were filming with the girls. Maybe I'm wrong

nix wrote: »

Total spoilers:

I think Halls motivation was that he needed closure on the whole thing, he wanted to make sure there were no lose ends that would lead back to endangering his family again, considering all of the heavy hitters involved Feds/Mafia, hence him burning the place down at the end. I think he was thinking perhaps he may find out who he actually killed in his house? But i dont see how, I admit it was surprising going from framer to hit squad, they probably should have went into his why more but i guess that was the point to the film.

Johnson owed Shepard his life, and Shepard wanted to be the one to kill his son. Tied up nicely.

nix wrote: »

I really liked this film, a nice lil surprise considering i knew nothing about it going in and also the lack of decent releases lately. Great performances by all and has been said, a solid soundtrack.

Deleted User wrote: »

Based on a novel by Joe R. Lansdale, one of my favorite pulpy authors and directed by Jim Mickle, who has delivered two of the past decades best films it's fair to say that I went into Cold in July with high expectations.

Cold in July is a gleefully entertaining Southern noir with a distinct 80s look and feel, it's the kind of back to basics, nuts and bolt genre film that you've always wanted John Carpenter to deliver. The film opens with the death of an intruder during a home burglary gone wrong. Richard Dane the all American family man shoot and kills the son of a notorious criminal who it turns out has just gotten paroled from prison and is in a vengeful mood.

In an interesting change of pace, the post murder scenes are played not as some heroic moment by our antagonist but rather are played out in total banality. There's no long speeches or deep insights into it, rather it's shown to as the messy endeavor that it is. The most striking moment in the4 early scenes is not the murder but rather the aftermath when Richard and his wife clean the blood and brain matter from their couch and wall. Done in complete silence and sound tracked to "Forgetting You" it's a striking scene and one that lingers long in the memory.

In the days that pass Richard finds himself obviously displaying signs of PTSD but considering that this is Texas in the 80s he medicates himself with beer early in the afternoon and a new security set up. It's all very matter of fact and works brilliantly and building an underlying sense of unease. It's with the introduction of the deceased's father Ben that the film takes a detour into classic 80s slasher film territory. Ben, brilliantly played by Sam Shepard seems indebted to Michael and Jason given his ability to disappear in the blink of an eye, shows up to make Ricard's life hell and one can easily see how the remainder of the film will play out.

Only this isn't your typical genre picture and as such the film takes a interesting turn around the mid way point and evolves into a far more intelligent and interesting film than one would expect. To say anything more risks ruining the surprise suffice to say that once the great Don Johnson pops up, Cold in July transcends genre expectations and delivers one of the years best thrillers.

While the twists and turns and sudden and unexpected tonal shifts were present in the original novel it's Mickle and Nick Damici's script that really shines here. They have an intricate knowledge of genre cinema and have crafted a film that manages to touch upon a number of genres without ever felling self serving or confused. There's a deft touch evident that elevates Cold in July from being a great genre picture to being one of the best cinematic outings of 2014.

Performances here are flawless with Shepard and Johnson being the obvious standouts. Shepard has spent most of the past number of years typecast so it's refreshing to see him given something a little different. He's wonderfully demented yet grounder and his relationship with Johnson's character is nicely played. Johnson here feels like a throw back to his most icon role. It's easy to believe that he's playing an older Sonny Crockett, a feeling that's compounded by a wonderful moment of Johnson driving at night while Jeff Grave's brilliant 80s infused synth score pays homage to Jan Hammer's "Crockett's Theme". In fact the entire scene feels like an homage to the wonderful scene in the pilot for Miami Vice where Crockett and Tubbs drive toward danger as "In the Air Tonight" plays. Michael C. Hall is equally good in his role as Richard and played the tortured soul better then most. He doesn't quite have the presence of Shepard or Johnson but then his character calls for a more understated and banal performance.

Cold in July is easily one of 2014's best cinematic offerings. An adult thriller that wonderfully subverts genre cliches and expectations and isn't afraid to go against type. It's bold, interesting and brilliantly crafted and is almost certain to feature on my favorite films of the year list.

pixelburp wrote: »

Zombie thread; 7 years, oof. Had wondered what Jim Mickle got up to next, had a look and seems he helmed the fairly poor In The Shadow of the Moon (a Netflix Original).