Edge of Winter

I picked this one to watch because I like a lot of snow and snowbound adventures/misadventures; while not being wildly original and despite that gorgeous Lefevre being shown too little, it does feature Kinnaman's acting chops in quite a genuine portrayal. Having seen him in other stuff here and there, I was impressed. The story could be run on Lifetime's night lineup, but it's not reducible to that – the series of worsening events snowball inexorably without steering too hard toward this or that direction, holding on to a steady thread of realism. It's something to check out for a late chill-out, especially if curious about Kinnaman's role and work.

This film is actually a tragedy. A parent who is on the verge of losing his two sons goes off the deep end. This is not too much of a stretch from reality. I can easily relate to a divorced father who is having trouble keeping his relationship going with his children; so can a few million other men. The fragility of life is extremely apparent in this film. Just one harsh random event can change lives forever. If the car doesn't crash, the rest does not happen. But it does crash. And the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

This film tells the story of two sons who go on a winter fishing holiday with their biological father that they hardly know. As their holiday progresses, the two sons are in increasing danger from the elements and from the people they are with.

Despite having an eventful story, I struggle to find the story engaging. It is nice to see a very young Tom Holland, but there is little else to captivate me. Events that normally induce thrill and fear do not induce such emotions in this film. Maybe the story telling needs a little more working on.

The only way this movie could have worked is if the casting was spot on, and the actors rose to the occasion. Never fear, as that's what Edge of Winter delivers. It's the sort of story where you might expect a few plot holes, but again, because the story and its arc are so carefully managed, with a believable script and good editing, such never comes to pass. Careful attention is paid to relationships and natural reactions to circumstance. This is especially so of the two boys, and of course, the father as he loses the plot. Because of this attention to detail the full gravity of the unfolding tragedy really hits you hard. The cameramen also, in the snowy depths of an arctic freeze, know exactly what they are doing. It's not the most fast paced or graphic movie I've ever seen, but the performances and the cinematography make Edge of Winter an easy watch of an uncomfortable topic.

It started off promising. The lead role is mostly played well and everything seemed set for a good movie. The feel and the production value was good. However, as the film progressed, it began to fall flat. Despite a good effort from the lead character, the character is not well written. I am not complaining about initial ambiguity, but at the overall way the lead character as well as all the other characters are scripted poorly. None of the characters have any depth and the whole story became 2 dimensional and irritating well into the film. But since my wife and I had invested good part of an hour by then, we continued watching anyway. This turned out to be an error on our part.

The problem is two fold. The viewer is not allowed to connect with either children even though there is every reason to. The viewer is also left hanging at the end of the movie with a very unsatisfactory outcome. I would not recommend it for that reason.