Review of Cold in July (2014) by Quincytheodore — 09 Mar 2015

Cold in July is deceptively unassuming, it's quiet in building the suspense then it savors the violence in healthy dose. The movie aptly delivers a story with twists and turns, surprisingly changing tones as new mysteries reveal themselves. The actors are great, they produce wide range of characterization and ensure their respective personalities are convincing. Its contrastingly dark and bright visual innovate the covert flair without making it looks like a retro detective noir flick.

Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) wakes up at one night and finds his home is a target of a burglar. He then proceeds to shoot him, much to everyone’s surprise, including his own. It sets up a chain of events that attract him to a much larger secret than simple breaking and entering. Hall is exceptional as a regular civilian with relatively normal mind, unlike his role in Dexter. He showcases variety of emotions, originally anxiety and rage, but as he endures the trial his characters develops stronger.

Russel (Sam Shepard), the father of the alleged burglar is sympathetically crude and worn down by life. Jim Bob (Don Johnson) rounds up the rag tag gang of investigators. These three are bizarre mix of cast, but they are drawn by a common goal. Each has their own quirky nature and the actors more than elevate the intense plot.

Visually, Cold in July is crisp and immersive. Cinematography works down to the minute details, from angle of the camera in the dark corner to the moving viewpoint of a car, these produce an immersive effect as one watches the mystery unfolds. Soundtracks are oddly in tune, some of them are harrowingly effective. The film doesn't boast high amount of gore, but when it does the result is bloody authentic.

If there's a minor setback, it's that the pace stumbles a bit on the midpoint. The transition between first and second half might be jarring. However, the clever twists and great performance more than make up for it. Cold in July is a light venture to shady uncompromising crime resort with turns that will keep audiences in the edge of their seats.