Escapade fatale

This film tells the story of two sons who go on a winter fishing holiday with their biological father that they hardly know. As their holiday progresses, the two sons are in increasing danger from the elements and from the people they are with.

Despite having an eventful story, I struggle to find the story engaging. It is nice to see a very young Tom Holland, but there is little else to captivate me. Events that normally induce thrill and fear do not induce such emotions in this film. Maybe the story telling needs a little more working on.

Usually I go by the review from IMDb ...

This one I totally disagree with... It holds you on the Edge/ as the title reads. It is about an abusive situation and very realistically done. Most of know someone like this guy or have known ... He continues to make stupid decisions and the kids are trying to respect him as their parent until their sense of survival kicks in. This is a don't miss movie!!!

This edgy thriller feels small in scale but it still packs a punch. Those who have grown up with a parent prone to losing their temper may find it a little triggering. To be a snowy outdoor survival type of movie, there isn't much physical ground covered. It jumps around a bit from one location to the next making the story feel a little choppy. What you can mostly expect to see here is a deadbeat dad at the end of his rope on the way to reaching his breaking point. This movie makes us feel uncomfortable right along with these two kids as they both respect and fear this unstable man they are stranded in the woods with. While the suspense was enough to keep my attention, I can't say the movie captivated me.

The only way this movie could have worked is if the casting was spot on, and the actors rose to the occasion. Never fear, as that's what Edge of Winter delivers. It's the sort of story where you might expect a few plot holes, but again, because the story and its arc are so carefully managed, with a believable script and good editing, such never comes to pass. Careful attention is paid to relationships and natural reactions to circumstance. This is especially so of the two boys, and of course, the father as he loses the plot. Because of this attention to detail the full gravity of the unfolding tragedy really hits you hard. The cameramen also, in the snowy depths of an arctic freeze, know exactly what they are doing. It's not the most fast paced or graphic movie I've ever seen, but the performances and the cinematography make Edge of Winter an easy watch of an uncomfortable topic.

It started off promising. The lead role is mostly played well and everything seemed set for a good movie. The feel and the production value was good. However, as the film progressed, it began to fall flat. Despite a good effort from the lead character, the character is not well written. I am not complaining about initial ambiguity, but at the overall way the lead character as well as all the other characters are scripted poorly. None of the characters have any depth and the whole story became 2 dimensional and irritating well into the film. But since my wife and I had invested good part of an hour by then, we continued watching anyway. This turned out to be an error on our part.

The problem is two fold. The viewer is not allowed to connect with either children even though there is every reason to. The viewer is also left hanging at the end of the movie with a very unsatisfactory outcome. I would not recommend it for that reason.