By John Corrado
In the Finland-shot survival thriller Dead of Winter, which takes place during a Minnesota snowstorm, Emma Thompson is doing her best impression of Frances McDormand in Fargo, and her out-of-character performance is what makes the film worth seeing.
Thompson stars as Barb Sorenson, an older lady who is going ice fishing alone on a secluded lake. She has her reasons for being out there on her own. But it’s not long before Barb encounters a man (Marc Menchaca) and woman (Judy Greer) – “Camo Jacket” and Purple Lady” as they are called in the credits – who have kidnapped a young woman (Laurel Marsden). And Barb is the only one around to rescue her.
Directed by Brian Kirk, Dead of Winter efficiently sets up this premise, getting down to busy pretty quickly as a fight for survival thriller set against extreme conditions in the middle of nowhere. Kirk is riffing on at least two different Liam Neeson vehicles, The Ice Road and The Grey, with the twist being that Thompson is the one in the Neeson role as grizzled survivalist turned reluctant action hero.
It’s a pretty intriguing elevator pitch, to cast the British actress as a rugged, outdoorsy American, complete with a heavy Minnesotan accent. Thompson is giving the role her all, elevating what could’ve been a more throwaway B-movie into an intriguing showcase for a veteran actress pushing herself in a new direction decades into her career. Thompson is also able to handle the more dramatic scenes, with the film at least trying to go to some deeper thematic places.
If certain details strain credibility, and the character motivations don’t entirely make sense the more they are revealed, Kirk keeps us intrigued from one moment to the next. He does a decent job building suspense, with cinematographer Christopher Ross capturing the desolate, snowy backdrops. To top it all off, Oscar-winning German composer Volker Bertelmann provides another rattling score that adds to the tense atmosphere. But it’s mainly a showcase for Emma Thompson.
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