Review of The Frozen Ground (2013) by Jesse O — 08 Oct 2013

It's a shame the cover for this film is so generic, because this film is much better than its DVD cover implies. It never feels like a truly extensive search for this killer, like David Fincher's Zodiac, it feels much more like an extended episode of Law and Order, with better production values, if you want me to be honest.

But it's a really good extended episode of Law and Order with a compelling story, location, and solid performances all around. Yes, that includes Cage. But it subscribes to all the police procedural cliches, so at the same time the movie is certainly a little generic in the framing of its story.

There's a problem in the fact that there's really little character development. Nicolas Cage's is very obviously invested in hunting this man down and killing him, but other than that there's not much to the character.

Sort of like the main characters in Law and Order, because of its procedural nature and its focus on the investigation, rather than the people, you don't really care much for any of the characters.

That's why it was so easy to replace people in that show, the stories were never about them. I think the same could be said for Cage's character. He could've very easily been played by another actor and nobody would've noticed.

But Cage is good here, he isn't given much to do so he can't really be as over-the-top as he can get. So if you're expecting the Nicolas Cage we got in Wicker Man or the Vampires Kiss, then I'm sorry to say this movie will be a disappointment.

John Cusack is also good here too. Cusack may not be a great actor, but he's always consistent and this movie's no different. He's good here but, again, his character isn't much really.

I didn't expect for the movie to give me an explanation for why he did what he did, but at least a little more "depth" to this character was needed. The most interesting character in the film would definitely have to be Cindy.

Color me surprised that I thought Vanessa Hudgens was really good here. She isn't outstanding by any stretch of the imagination, but she's more than solid and better than I was expecting. So the complaints about the movie aren't directed at the cast at all, it's mostly at the scripting of these characters.

And the scripting of the entire movie in general. I mentioned earlier that the movie feels like an extended Law and Order episode, but a really good one. The problem is that I hate Law and Order, I just hate the entire police procedural genre, it is unoriginal and tests my patience.

Because I like to be invested in my stories, I like to care for the characters that a movie, or a show, has, as that usually leads to the most enjoyment of something. In a show I like long, complex storytelling ala Breaking Bad or The Sopranos.

In this movie, I never really cared for anybody, probably because of the scripting of the story. And don't get me wrong, I actually did think this movie was good. It was a compelling story to watch with some really good performances, but I think this type of real-life story deserved extensive research into the case.

The movie gives us the TV version of the story...now I want to see the 'David Fincher's Zodiac' version. Still, this is as solid a rental as you can get. Won't be anything you remember a week from now, but good nonetheless.