Dinheiro Sujo

Mrs. Shullivan and I were in the mood for a crime thriller genre film and so we popped in Bryan Cranston's starring role in Cold Comes the Night. Cranston plays a Russian courier named Topo who is gradually going blind and he in the middle of a road trip which has him couriering one million dollars to his Russian mobster boss. As his sight is near gone he requires someone to drive the car couriering the Russian mobs cash and his driver just can't be trusted as we discover.

His co-star is Alice Eve who plays a single mom named Chloe working as a motel night desk clerk in a seedy part of town strewn with ladies of the night who prefer to rent her motel rooms by the hour rather than by the night. Now Chloe has received an ultimatum by a case worker from Child Services that she needs to move her daughter to a more suitable living environment than hooker haven or Child Services will swoop in an take Chloe's daughter away from her.

So Topo and his brother-in-law dupe of a chauffeur played by Robin Lord Taylor (more widely known as Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin, on the hit 2014 TV series Gotham) make an over night stop over at Chloe's motel, rent separate rooms for the night, and then this thriller evolves....well sort of anyway.

I can't say that Bryan Cranston was right on character as the blind Russian mobster since his Russian dialect was as believable as maybe a Jimmy Fallon's Russian impersonation. Of course you have a corrupt cop named Billy Banks played by Logan Marshall-Green who is supposed to add some hype and action to this crime thriller but I thought his acting was way over the top. (Also a personal observation, what makes so many actors/actresses use a stage name comprised of both their divorced parents surnames as a way of commemorating both parents and think we will remember them? This is a pet peeve of mine. Hey actors/actresses, choose one surname or another and get over yourself.)

Without giving away too much of the movies plot (as there is not a lot of meat on this bone) Topo's cash goes missing and he will stop at nothing to find the scammers who have left him holding an empty bag that he must now otherwise report back to his Russian mob boss unless he recovers his stolen million dollars.

A two for one rating: Mrs. Shullivan gave the film a 4 out of 10 and since I am a sucker for crime thriller genres and have seen literally thousands of them I give it a slightly higher 6 out of 10 rating. It is worth a late night watch if you are having difficulty sleeping. If you are a crime thriller genre junkie as I am, I don't think you will be able to go to bed without finding out first how the film ends. It's not so great but does have a "so/so" story line to keep you hooked until the final two words are illuminated..."THE END".

"Good help is hard to find." Chloe (Eve) is a hotel owner who is not only struggling to keep her life together but also to keep her daughter with her. Her day goes from bad to worse when after being threatened by child protective services a murder occurs in one of her rooms. As if that isn't bad enough a man named Topo (Cranston) knew the man who was killed and the vehicle that had his money was taken by the cops. He enlists the help of Chloe and the two of them set out to get the money back...or Amy will lose her daughter forever. There have been many many movies with this idea, someone loses something important to them and an innocent stranger must help them get it back. The difference in this one is...the cast. I'm not saying they were great I'm saying this one had a different cast. On the other hand though the cast is really one of the reasons why this is watchable. Alice Eve is believable as a woman who will do anything to save her daughter. Cranston tries his best to be a creepy tough guy but comes off as being flat. This is a movie that had potential but again became another generic "let's get my money or else" movie. Overall, not horrible but the movies Cash and Pressed were much better. I give this a B-.

I assume I was drawn to 'Cold Comes the Night' for the same reason as many viewers: Bryan Cranston. I've worked my way through 'Breaking Bad' three times, and believe that even in a time of strong dramatic TV leads (e.g. Michael C. Hall, Jon Hamm, Charlie Hunnam), Cranston stood out as the greatest. I struggle to imagine even someone like Daniel Day-Lewis handling certain 'Breaking Bad' scenes as well as Cranston. I was therefore surprised to find that the strong performer in Tze Chun's 'Cold Comes the Night' is actually an actress I'd never heard of before: Alice Eve. I've long believed that a strong lead performance can elevate an otherwise bad film into mediocrity, and an otherwise mediocre film into a good one. Alice Eve shows the kind of protectiveness and desperation familiar to those who've seen Jennifer Lawrence in 'Winter's Bone', although she isn't as subtle as Lawrence. Although Eve's talents certainly make her scenes more enjoyable, I feel that the star attraction - Cranston - was woefully underused. His forced Russian accent stifles his ability to express himself, and his character's near-blindness could have been explored in far greater depth. These deficiencies prevent 'Cold Comes the Night' from rising above mediocrity. Tze Chun is a director I'm entirely (sans this film, of course) unfamiliar with. In bolder hands, 'Cold Comes the Night' could have been a very good crime drama. Unfortunately, the film doesn't escape the tropes of the genre, despite having sufficient scope and talent to do so.

Cold Comes the Night kept me tense and engaged all the way through. The characters were refreshingly multi-layered, the cinematography was fantastic, the soundtrack was well-matched (that song at the end was killer!), and Cranston, Eve, and Parker's performances were stellar, which is the result of excellent directing as well as acting.

I don't understand why certain viewers felt like the twists and turns were illogical--while there are a few extreme moments, I thought the characters' actions and reactions were consistent with what we knew about them. The less predictable behavior kept me interested in the two main characters, who had much more depth than the characters that usually star in this genre.

My only complaint is that I did not get to see this film on the big screen. I can't wait to see more of Chun's work!

Cold Comes The Night is a dark thriller about a woman Chloe(Alice Eve) who lives and runs a rundown motel. To make ends meet and support her 10 year old daughter she is in business with Billy(Logan Marshall Green),a corrupt cop that deals smack and pimps hookers out of the motel. Billy(the least sympathetic character in this piece) takes advantage of Chloe's situation and at times is psychotic and brutal towards her. Bryan Cranston is a Russian mobster who spends the night at the motel. He loses his driver and the jeep that has a package he is obligated to deliver. Topo(Bryan Cranston) takes Chloe and her daughter Sophia hostage and sets out to retrieve his package at any cost. Chloe is the most sympathetic character in this film (with exception to her daughter obviously) and is mostly a victim of circumstance. Make no mistake everyone in this movie is bad, including Chole. Performances are real strong across the board and elevate this material greatly. Bryan Cranston is exceptional in this and stands out as a nearly blind, ruthless career criminal. As a huge fan of Breaking Bad myself, he was the reason to check out this downtrodden drama and I am not disappointed. CCTN overall really came across with the strong performances from the cast and sold what would otherwise be an average thriller. I am glad I gave this a look and hope to see Bryan Cranston play more dark characters like Topo and Walter White in the future.