Cold Weather

'COLD WEATHER': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Director Aaron Katz, who was born in Portland, OR, returned to his hometown to film this mystery / drama / Mumblecore film. Mumblecore is a term used to describe a genre of indie film, that began about a decade ago, that features non-professional actors (usually in their twenties) in extremely low budget productions about relationships with dialogue heavy improvised scripts. Katz's previous feature films ('DANCE PARTY USA' and 'QUIET CITY') were both critically acclaimed Mumblecore films. This one tells the story of a man who moves back to Portland, and into an apartment with his sister, and becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to his ex-girlfriend when she goes missing. It stars Cris Lankenau (who's only other acting credit is Katz's 'QUIET CITY'), Trieste Kelly Dunn, Paul Castillo and Robyn Rikoon. The film is a great example of how much you can do with very little.

Lankenau stars as Doug, a former forensic science student, who drops out of school in Chicago and moves back home to Portland, and in with his sister Gail (Dunn). He gets a job at an ice factory and befriends a co-worker named Carlos (Castillo) who's also a part time DJ. His ex-girlfriend, Rachel (Rikoon), follows him into town on a supposed visit and then goes missing. Doug is a big 'Sherlock Holmes' fan and finally gets a chance to put his fascination and education to the test. He enlists the help of both Carlos and Gail in discovering Rachel's whereabouts. This gives him more of a chance to bond with his estranged sister.

The movie is extremely and very deliberately slow-paced. It's very aimless at times and features several dialogue scenes that do very little to advance the development of the characters and absolutely nothing to propel the story line. It takes a good 37 minutes (of an hour and 37 minute movie) to get to the film's plot. This didn't bother me. While it wasn't exciting or involving it also wasn't boring. Watching this film is no less interesting or entertaining than hanging out with a group of friends, really. When something does finally happen it's worth the wait too. There's no action or sex or anything really fascinating, when you think about it, but it's entertaining all the same. That's thanks in large part to Katz's directing, an extraordinary and memorable score (by Keegan DeWitt, who also worked on Katz's other films) and some great performances. Three of the four leads were all good screen presences I thought. I didn't care much for Rikoon, she did have the smallest part but even when she was on screen she wasn't very interesting. Dunn is beautiful and should have no problem continuing to find film offers, Castillo was very natural and likable and Lankenau was especially good in my opinion. He reminded me a lot of Ryan Reynolds in the way he talked and sounded. He should have no problem finding more work as well. The film is especially impressive when you think about the emotions and interests it provokes by doing almost nothing. I couldn't find a listing of the budget to this film but Katz's previous two films both reportedly cost between 2 and 3 thousand dollars. I can't imagine this one costing much more. All in all I thought the movie was pretty interesting and entertaining. It's sure to bore some while highly amusing others.

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This is an interesting indie film by auteur Aaron Katz. I had not seen any of his previous work but had heard the film was well received at SXSW in 2010. Similarly, I had seen a review that compared it to the film Brick (2005) that I had enjoyed immensely.

Plot wise the film introduces us to a forensic science college dropout Doug who idolizes Sherlock Holmes and his Slacker sister Gail as they move into an apartment together in Portland Oregon. Doug lays about and searches for some direction in life, eventually finding a menial night job at an ice factory. We are then introduced to one of Doug's co-workers Carlos and Doug's ex-girlfriend Rachel who is in town for business. The four start hanging out together, playing cards and board games, drinking coffee, going to clubs and enjoying each other's company. Rachel's sudden mysterious disappearance from her hotel room spurs the other friends to action and ignites Doug's inner Sherlock Holmes.

This film is considered by many critics to be part of the mumblecore movement. As such it has lots of long shots, a slowly evolving plot and realistic dialogue between lots of slackers. In some respects this film is more about the brother sister relationship between Doug and Gail than it is about the mystery of Rachel's disappearance. It has an arty independent feel to it and it was obviously shot on a low budget. Cold Weather is certainly not going to be for everyone's taste, especially the abrupt ending. However, I really liked its quirkiness and indie feel probably because I've got thing for overly educated layabouts.

Since this is available on Netflix instant streaming I would suggest you give it a viewing. That is if you enjoy small independent films with a grungy vibe. I found it inspiring that the writer/director was able to get this made, I plan on checking out some of his previous films. O and I think I would like to take a trip up to check out Portland Oregon it looks amazing.

Cold Weather (2012)

Indie films with their low budgets can turn a couple of basic directions to distinguish themselves. One is sheer inventiveness or surprise. The other is low key realism making ordinary people seem relatable, and that is where this movie goes. There are dozens of these, often with young casts appealing to the twenty-something generation somewhere between college and career.

So we have a young man, Doug, living with his sister in Portland just as he finds a job in an ice factory. And then his ex-girlfriend arrives in town on business, and they see each other as old friends. The fourth character is a co-worker at the factory who befriends Doug and falls for the ex-girlfriend. And we see the basis of a relationship drama, not quite a romantic movie but not a serious probing drama, either.

But then the movie turns abruptly, and the comic aspects get interwoven with an apparent crime that these amateur Sherlocks can't quite get their finger on. But their efforts make a great game. It's super low key, and any other movie would hype up the facts with guns and scary soundtrack music and real (or cheesy) fear. Not this kind of Indie film. This is about the people, and the "crime" they are pursuing is a just way to learn more about the protagonists.

Which is pretty fun. The acting holds together pretty well, regular people being regular people without affectation. Easier said than done, but also leaving the audience less to really work with or care about than you'd prefer. By the very end, the last few moments, there is a final realization that's rather sweet and rewarding, and the movie turns back to what it's best at.

See it? If you have an open mind for lower budget but reasonably well made modest movies (known as Indie films), you might just find this one clicks. Within its limitations.

On one hand, a local guy came back to Portland and made a feature film set in the city I live in and love; he made it on a low budget, wrote it and directed it himself, got it made and *released*! (And Portland looks gorgeous in the film.) This is an impressive achievement any filmmaker should be commended for. Many aspiring filmmakers never get their film finished let alone released.

On the other hand, the film is woefully lacking in basics like character development and an interesting story. Many plot points simply don't ring true or seem plausible; even character interactions seem forced and a bit scripted, giving the audience precious little to relate to or care about in these people; we're almost *begging* for something to latch on to as we watch the film, but there's almost nothing. The dialog is usually wooden and forgettable, and it's hard to see how it advances the story much or helps us understand the relationship between the characters (or makes us laugh). And there's rarely any tension between characters (hint: *conflict* in movies is interesting!).

I get that it wasn't supposed to be a thriller but it isn't effective as a "relationship film" either. Too much "reading between the lines" and "willing suspension of disbelief" is required. "Cold Weather" kind of plods along to an unexpected conclusion, making us wonder what kind of movie it *could* have been. Unfortunately, it compares poorly to similar films made on a low budget by young directors.

Both written and Directed by Aaron Katz (Dance Party USA, Quiet City) Cold Weather tells the story of an underachieving forensics graduate, Doug (Cris Lankenau), who upon moving in with his sister, Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn), quickly finds himself thrust into a real life who-done-it when his ex-girlfriend suddenly vanishes. Being an admittedly big fan of Sherlock Holmes, Doug, along with his his sister and his new bestie, Carlos (Raul Castillo), set out to play real life detectives in a case that just might be a little over their heads.

The film is described as a thriller, which I though I was going to see. To be honest, the film wasn't that thrilling at all, at least when compared to good thrillers. I mean, it's no Polanski. My first impression upon leaving my seat was actually that of disappointment. It wasn't until I was on the bus heading home when it suddenly hit me.

The point of the movie had little to do with the thriller aspects and everything to do with the brother and sister relationship. It's like one of those 3-D puzzles that were popular in the mid-90's. You know, the ones where in order to see the complete picture you had to let your eyes relax, otherwise all you would see would be squiggly lines and repetitive shapes.

Here the squiggly lines were clearly the missing girlfriend subplot masquerading itself as the film's main design. The full picture however, was Aaron Katz's beautiful portrait of one sibling's bond at a particular moment in time.

I recommend this film to anyone who likes to laugh just as much, if not more than they liked to be thrilled, or just simply anyone who has a lot of love their sibling