Review of Coldwater (2013) by Thomas S — 30 Aug 2014

I've always contended that a great conclusion can make even the most brainless movies seem worthwhile. Fortunately, I wouldn't consider Coldwater brainless by any means, but it does suffer some near-fatal story mismanagement problems, like improperly paced opening scenes, distracting flashbacks, poorly developed supporting characters and ever mounting suspense that only serves to clarify a few "hows" rather than uncover a major big reveal.

The film does actually boasts a surprisingly strong performance from its lead actor though and somewhat relevant themes and messages for the audience to walk away thinking about, but for me, it wasn't until the compelling finale, when the film resolves its mediocre external conflict and puts an emotional spotlight on the internal conflict, that I finally felt satisfied with the production, and could justify the hour and 45 minutes I spent trying to understand it.