Cold Copy

Journalism student Mia Scott is desperate to impress the hard nosed, but influential journalist Diane Heger, even if it means breaking the rules to land the perfect story.

It has a made for TV feel to it, so don't expect slick production values or a film full of A-listers, but do expect a good story, and some very competent acting.

The story is quite a good one, and it will hold your attention from the start, unlike many similar films it does actually end quite well, an unexpected climax, it becomes a story of revenge. A few poignant scenes throughout, Mia opening up about her past, very good.

Heger truly is a monster, but an interesting villain, Tracee Ellis Ross is excellent, but Bel Powley steals thr show, she's great, and acted as producer.

8/10.

This movie certainly wasn't intent on doing any favours for the journalism industry. Every character is an absolute monster and it's not even all that subtle about it. I get that it's a cut-throat industry and what this film is portraying probably isn't all that far from accurate. It doesn't change the fact that it makes for a pretty tough watch though.

Even still, the movie feels very flat. I never really felt like I'd been given a reason to keep watching or to stay invested. The story just kind of ticks along and then there's a decent, if quite cliche, ending and that's that. It's all very forgettable stuff.

I don't know, I just didn't feel like the film had enough to offer. I'm not going to remember this one a week from now. 5/10.

...the characters and acting weren't good

The film delves into to competitive world of journalism, following a (seemingly) sweet and timid grad student as she pursues her dreams, and gets accepted into a class taught by an "alpha dog" of current events news, a forceful anchor of a "Hard Copy" type show. We come to learn that our timid lead is not a shrinking violet at all, but a little cutthroat who will do anything to be seen and heard by her professor. There's the makings of a good story here, and while it is somewhat explored in the 90 minute runtime, it has gaps and holes that make it less than believable.

Neither of the two lead female characters... are terribly appealing, and the actors playing them seemed stiff and fake. Our student (Mia) is portrayed as too fearful to become the wretch she turns into (almost overnight), and the professor/anchor is an almost non-human caricature of vindictive success. 16 year old Igor (Jason Trembley) does better as the subject of Mia's story... I wish they'd have done more with wrapping his storyline... would love to know what happens next for him. We're teased, but then no.

With a tighter story, and better characters, this could've been an improved film. Instead it becomes (pun intended) "nothing to write home about." Meh.

When we first decided to watch this it had a score of 7.0 and no reviews, and indeed not much information about it at all. The trailer looked ok though. By the time we did watch, a week or two later, the score had dropped to 5.8.

The characters of Mia and Diane aren't all that believable, but the story is quite strong and moves along pretty well. It's all about how far Mia is prepared go down Diane's recommended approach that the story is more important than the truth, because what's truth anyway. Enjoyed it for sure.

There's also quite a strong ending, which is a solid achievement because a lot of movies just sort of fade away at the end. Good work.

Cold Copy tells the story of mousey try- hard journo student Mia ( Powley) who is desperate to succeed and impress her hard nosed teacher/ mentor ( Ellis-Ross). A chance encounter with a 15 year old boy gives Mia the chance to come up with something juicy- but she will have to lie and edit the truth to make it happen. The film is quite tense as you sense the desperation in Mia. It also dissects the morals of journalism- starting out with the pursuit of truth v "what it takes" to get a story. The film does have some holes that is not addressed - such as the backlash from the falsity of the story. Stay patient till the very end as there is a final " punch in the gut" that is both satisfying and fitting to the idea of " whatever the cost" Whether you will be engaged completely to see out the ending will be subjective. Some have criticised the performances but I thought Powley was pretty convincing. Definitely worth your time.