Herbststurm

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/Director Ruba Nadda likes to explore human nature and unexpected romantic attraction. She did this in Cairo Time (2009) and does so again here in this excruciatingly slow-moving "thriller" with an interesting beginning, muddled middle, and a final act that reminds of wet fireworks … a dud. On the bright side, actress-extraordinaire Patricia Clarkson never allows us to lose interest.

I've often written of my enjoyment of slow-burns and slow-builds for thrillers, and the best manage to generate a sense of caring from the viewers as they move towards the climax. Unfortunately, this one offers little more than an intriguing premise that places one ridiculous development on top of the next.

Patricia Clarkson plays a doctor whose beloved husband has recently passed away and she heads to their lake cottage for some peace and quiet. Not long after, an injured Scott Speedman shows up in her living room. Being a doctor, she performs bullet-removal surgery with needle-nosed pliers, and then of course, finds herself attracted to the young gunshot victim who is being hunted by the father of a guy Speedman killed.

We know the showdown is coming, but it seems to take forever to arrive, and then is pretty anti-climactic despite the presence of Tim Roth as the revenge-seeking father. The romantic attraction is pretty far-fetched and plays like a Nicolas Sparks story, or even a 1990's Tom Berenger or Ashley Judd thriller.

The focus on death could have gone much deeper, psychologically speaking, and there is a brief scene where Roth tells Speedman "You always think there's going to be more time" that leads us to believe things are going to get really interesting. Instead more attention is given to the unlikely romance and the kinda hokey manhunt. Fortunately, the cinematography around beautiful Georgian Bay helps offset the story and the manipulative score, and of course watching Patricia Clarkson and Tim Roth work is always somewhat satisfying.

Sometimes it amazes me, how many films with a modest budget can look really beautiful these days. As is October Gale. The scenes on and around the lake are beautifully portrayed on this film. The sound was also very good. The storm certainly came threateningly out of the speakers.

The film is ment to be part of the psychological thriller genre. Not everyone likes this type of film, especially since they are often slow to develop at first. But once they get going, they can pull the viewer out of their seat, into the story. However, there are two important conditions for this! First, the characters need to be explored very thoroughly so that the viewer can bond with them. Second, there has to be a plot that slowly ramps up the tension and comes recommended to a big climax, a big showdown between good and evil.

Unfortunately, October Gale fails on both counts. The actors have done their best, but the confused storyline does not allow them to put their soul into the characters. The heroine, the antihero, and the villain have all clearly experienced tragedy. But the storyteller fails to bring this to the viewer. We see a lot of flashbacks, but as a viewer you have the feeling that you are still missing a lot to see the whole picture. There are many loose ends!

Worse still, the promised climax is not there. The confrontation was not a bitter life-and-death struggle, not a terrifying chase, or not even just a little bit thrilling. No, the film only offers a faint light version of what we've seen in so many other thrillers. It is over before you as a viewer realize it.

Mainly because of the lack of the promised climax, I give October Gale only 5/10. A shame as it was filmed to carry a much better plot than this.

Dr. Helen Matthews (Patricia Clarkson) is alone at the family cottage after the death of her husband James (Callum Keith Rennie). She finds a wounded stranger named Will (Scott Speedman). She pulls out a bullet. They're trapped as a storm approaches. Local handyman Al Tessier (Aidan Devine) arrives but Will claims that he's a killer. Tom (Tim Roth) is coming to kill Will.

There is a good tension early on between Clarkson and Speedman. The audience can't trust Speedman and neither can Clarkson. The tension is broken with the kiss. The premise crumbles as Clarkson gives away her trust too quickly. It's impossible to know the truth at that point and the movie stumbles. These are great actors but they can't act their way out of this muddled writing. Filmmaker Ruba Nadda seems to have recently fallen back on TV directing. The directing is fine if unspectacular but the writing has issues.

The grief aspects of this movie, especially early on are handled well and are completely believable. The rest of the movie is implausible nonsense that gets worse the longer it goes on. A side note, Tim Roth doesn't show up till around the last quarter of the movie, so not worth watching just for him.

Being somewhat brain-dead will enhance the view-ability of this movie!

Small indie thriller that doesn't quite thrill. patricia clarkson is quite good, but the script is lacking.