The Cold Light of Day

This was a fairly interesting story but I didn't like the lead actor, Richard Grant, who played "Victor Marek." It's about a British cop ("Marek") trying to trap a sick child killer, and at the same time his mind is on a woman and her kid. He winds up using them as bait to get the killer. In doing so, he lost me.

He wasn't a "good guy," himself and certainly not a likable person that we are supposed to root for in the film. Even Richard Grant's looks in here (tell me that wasn't eyeliner on him) were annoying.

The best part of the film was the cinematography. This was a nice-looking film on VHS and it's too bad it isn't available on DVD. I wouldn't buy it, but I might rent it to catch the good photography.

Less satisfying than "Silence of the Lambs," but nevertheless haunting, suspenseful, and worth a rental. It was one of those that stayed with me.

At heart, it is the psychological study of an ex-cop (Grant)trying to balance two opposing aspects: his compulsion to apprehend a child killer and his growing love for a woman (Baxter) and her young daughter (Weeks). The struggle forces him to confront his own limitations, the denial of which leads to the climax and possible tragedy. This is paralleled by Baxter's convincing portrayal of a mother vacillating between suspicion and trust, fear and love.

The film subtly but effectively sexualizes the daughter to give us glimpse of childhood through the psychopath's eyes, a technique which sharpens and crystallizes both the plot and mood. Unfortunately, the psychological study of the killer, though ample, seems week and would have benefited from more attention by the writer.

First let me say that one thing I LOVED about this film was the use of sound to set the mood - not noise and music but common every day sounds - the clinking of glass, the slamming of a cell door, the creak of a windmill the squeak of a child's swing, tires on pavement on and on -- and in moments when they were magnified -- just brilliant use of the ordinary to create the extraordinary.

On the whole, I am usually not too taken with foreign made (outside the USA & Canada) films so went into this with the idea I'll give it a few minutes - it's free on Netflix so nothing ventured nothing gained. Not being familiar with any of the actors my first reaction to Swaziland born Grant was Milquetoast - however, his passion in the role and believability took me quite by surprise - effective as an obsessed investigator looking into the brutal murders of three young girls. When, in a game of political chess, the wrong man is accused and commits suicide, effectively closing the case to further investigation, he leaves the department and personally takes the investigation to surprising lengths. Soliciting the help of a psychologist and his access to computers, he narrows down a locale to ferret out the perpetrator. He meets a homeless young mother (outstanding acting by Lynsey Baxter (The French Lieutenant's Woman))and sets her up as his housekeeper secretly using the daughter (a young Perdita Weeks) as bait.

The story effectively plays his obsession with nailing the homicidal pedophile against his growing affection for both the mother and daughter and he does a fine job of drawing you in to the conflicting emotions while leaving you unsympathetic to his using a child as bait for a serial killer. The killer is really rather brilliantly (and sickeningly) portrayed by the late Simon Cadell - Nice character development and surprisingly good insight into how a pedophile sees the world - a struggling mom in a war torn region protecting the innocence of her child, a detective who cannot let go despite the potential for heartbreaking results, a brilliant serial killer, all make for an edge of your seat thriller for the most part. Hauntingly beautiful locales in he Czech Republic. Drags in a few places but well worth a watch.

Not having seen the original (In Broad Daylight, if I'm not mistaken), I viewed this film without preexisting expectations and loved it. It's very suspenseful without using formulaic devices and had a really rich pace and rhythm. The characters are very real and three-dimensional and Richard E. Grant gives a wonderful performance (as always, IMHO). I tend to enjoy films that feature character actors in leading roles. They don't have the off-screen persona that tends to overwhelm character portrayal as sometimes happens with conventional leading men and ladies. Sorry about the digression. If you like suspense-thrillers that are intense without displaying a great deal of frenzied action, you'll like this movie.

In my opinion, this is one of the better movies to come out of Europe in the past decade. The film's power lies not, like so many of its Hollywood counterparts, in bombastic displays of action and violence, but rather in a well balanced mix of superb character development and a thoughtful but well-paced plotline. The film functions on many levels and probes deeper into the minds of its characters than almost any other film I've seen.