Cold Pursuit

I'm a simple man; give me a black-comedy packaged as a revenge crime-thriller and you're going to get a good score. I would give Cold Pursuit a 8/10.

Cold Pursuit follows Nelson Coxman, Kehoe's 'Citizen of the Year', who falls into a depressive spiral after his teen age son Kyle is found dead. Upon discovering Kyle was murdered by a gang of drug runners, Nelson turns to a violent vendetta that escalates into a full-blown gang war between the local criminal element. I'm so used to watching a Neeson action movie and expecting the usual spy or crime thriller in which he is the most capable man in the room; what I loved about this film is how this character just stumbles his way through his revenge. This is a man blinded by grief who has turned to violence but he has no idea how to dismantle a criminal organisation; Coxman just targets anyone who can give him information on who was responsible for the death of his son. Coxman's vendetta causes chaos throughout the idyllic, tourist town of Kehoe and his personal life is quite irreperably dirupted: both his marriage and brother suffering the consequences of his actions. The nature of this black comedy is only enhanced by the story of Viking's gang and all the chaotic individuals shifting through their own agendas, be they big or small. When the violence pulls the Native American criminal element into the fray you get to see how an old school gang steeped with tradition responds to harm done to them. The film really hits a boiling point as all the big players come together and the audience is broken by Coxman and Viking's son, Ryan, form a heartwarming connection that leaves you with a final heartfelt reminder that this film is ultimately about grief and the inability to escape it through distraction or fantasy. The cinematography for this film takes every opportunity it can to capture the stunning setting Cold Pursuit takes place in, yet the director manages to capture this story in a really unique and expressive way that lends a personal voice to what is being shown. The editing really paces this film quite well and the transition between sequences with the death title cards is a really clever element that adds a lot to this feature. The score for the film is really charming and almost quaint at first; yet it will just sweep you away at other times and give you pause - almost asking you to reflect on all the violence and loss in the story up to that point.

Liam Neeson, who played Nels Coxman, is an excellent protagonist for the film and really highlights the grapple with revenge his character goes through; I love how Neeson can make his character an inexperienced killer but also remind you how broken he is over the loss of his son in a following scene. Tom Bateman, who played Trevor 'Viking' Calcote, is Cold Pursuit's loose cannon antagonist and he is an intense delight to watch; Bateman gives this very zny performance that made me think of a gritty Jim Carrey and without the energy he brought to every scene I don't think the tone of this black comedy would have had the same impact. Domenick Lombardozzi and Benjamin Hollingsworth, who played Mustang and Dexter respectively, give a very touching, if not tragic performance as the hopelessly in love couple who suffer due Hollingsworth's role's fast tongue and lack of wits; I especially enjoyed how the stoic Lombardozzi really hid his feelings so well except around a few key characters ultimately leading to his brilliant betrayal of his gang. Nicholas Holmes, who played Ryan, has been the latest child actor to restore my faith in young talent; I like how he brings such insight to this role and easily conveys an intelligence that outshines a lot of the mature cast. Julia Jones, who played Aya, is a fierce force to be reckoned with against Bateman and one of the few personalities he even seems to be afraid of; Jones is merciless in her role as a mother protecting her son and forcing her crooked ex-husband to be present in a meaningful way (or failing that to hand over full custody). William Forsythe, who played Brock, is this tough presence who pushes himself away from the criminal world slower than it can pull him back in; Forsythe has a nice familial bond with Neeson and his noble sacrifice for his brother is one of my favourite scenes of the film. David O'Hara and Gus Halper, who played Sly and Bone respectively, really are quite contrasting characters who match up rather well; O'Hara is beyond a shaow of a doubt the hardened criminal that thrives around Viking's crew, while Halper is hilarious as the cocky flirt of the gang. Tom Jackson, who played White Bull, is a very grounded yet stoic leader of the Native American criminal element in a complete contrast to Bateman's Viking; Jackson is so fascinating to watch as he loses touch with those around him and falls further into a need to gain vengeance from his son and a bond with the natural world that runs parallel to this goal. Arnold Pinnock, who played The Eskimo, feels like a dangerous presence struggling through an amateur world; Pinnock seems almost exhausted by Neeson and his professional negotiation with Bateman is a very well done scene.

However, the best performance came from John Doman and Emmy Rossum, who played John 'Gip' Gipsky and Kim Dash respectively. There are a lot of films out there that have done the old experienced police officer alongside the young hotshot looking to make a big bust before, in many cases this pair would look like quite the stereotype. Yet almost immediately the film shows a unique chemistry that is determined to redefine and make this sort of relationship between police officers more interesting. Doman does a great job as the fed up veteran who lets a lot of crime fall by the wayside for the sake of tourism in Kehoe. His opening monologue about his desire to open up opium dens is very funny and hooks you right away. Rossum on the other hand really launches herself full tilt into every opportunity she sees; looking to bust some young teenagers with a joint on her first day and then zeroing in quickly upon the gang war that is slowly gravitating to her town. As these two officers counter off against one another it grows increasingly hilarious to watch Doman's 'Gip' grow more fascinated by Rossum's love life as Rossum continues to show an incredibly adept edge and nearly unravel the entire mystery.

Cold Pursuit is a well written film that is visually put together quite well; however, it does suffer some structure issues especially as the narrative ventures into the second and third acts. The story at times moves away from Coxman's vendetta to focus on one of the two crime families, or even both for an extended period of time and as the film moves forward the time spent with the main protagonist stranegly feels less and less. Even smaller sub-plots such as that of the police, Ryan's upbringing or the scandals amongst the gang members draw focus often and you begin to feel the weight of the cast of the characters as the second act begins to wrap up. This is at times a necessary evil but with a clearer vision of delivering information and reaching the final act this would have been much smoother to watch.

Laura Dern, who played Grace Coxman, is another figure whose grief would have been really interesting to see unfold in more detail but she is denied this quite early on; I think one of the biggest weaknesses this film had was wasting Dern and not giving her character some closure. Michael Eklund, who played Speedo, finds himself the unfortunate generic henchman in a film where most henchmen roles actually feel like developed characters; Eklund barely has much opportunity to growl some tough sounding lines before he is snuffed. Elizabeth Thai, who played Ahn, is one of those Asian roles in an American blockbuster that has been put in without any substance given to her; Thai's mean-spirited role is never given any agency and consistently treated like a background figure. Raoul Max Trujillo, who played Thorpe, is portrayed as the go to 'man of action' for the Native American crime family but this quickly proves ineffectual; Trujillo hangs about in scenes but he never really feels much like a role and certainly doesn't get the treatment Jackson's character is given.