The Cold Light of Day

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.

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.

In the countryside of an Eastern Europe country, three little girls are murdered in the wood by a pedophile and found naked with one precise cut on the throat. Detective Viktor Marek (Richard E. Grant), who has come from the city, investigates the case, but his superior Pavel Nowak (James Laurenson) arrests a scapegoat, the pothead Alexi Berka (Thom Hoffman), and tortures the youngster to confess the murder since he is disputing the elections. Marek does not agree with the result of the investigation and resigns his job but continues to track the killer. While following a lead in an old road, Marek meets the girl Anna Tatour (Perdita Weeks) that has a flat tire of her bicycle and he offers a ride in his car to the girl. Then, he tells to Anna's mother, Milena Tatour (Lynsey Baxter), that she should instruct her daughter to not accept ride from strangers.

Marek becomes obsessed to hunt down the pedophile and he decides to rent an old gas station in the old road near to the place where the crimes where committed to see the cars that use the road and he invites Milena to cook for him with the intention of secretly using Anna as a bait. Meanwhile the killer is the disturbed pediatrician Vladimir Kozant (Simon Cadell), who puts his eyes on Anna while refueling in the gas station. But Marek has fallen in love with Milena and Anna and he decides to call-off his investigation.

"The Cold Light of Day" is a great thriller with murder, pedophilia and obsession. Viktor Marek is an interesting character that becomes obsessed to accomplish his promise to the parents of a victim and changes his life expecting to catch the killer. Anna is a beautiful character, pure and traumatized by her past. In the end, "The Cold Light of Day" is a thriller recommended for viewers that want to see a different and quite unknown movie. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Isca Mortal" ("Mortal Bait")

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.

well i watched this flick and had a feeling to check out the reviews online here. i wanted to see another film with good old richard e grant. was not disappointed. tis a good film. though a little warped. but the acting from REG is very good. seems like an odd number. reading the credits, seems like made in some european foreign country. perhaps made for tv. made for tv: normally a turn-off but this one is not too bad. but guy from hi-de-hi is not looking evil enough for his role. well, perhaps times have changed since it was made. check it out. depends on ur tastes but i was not disappointed. well-made flick. u want silence of the lambs, go rent it. this is an effort that hits the mark they intended. depends what ur into.