Cold Harbor

"Cold Harbor" is an intense, brooding film about four brothers who spend a wintry weekend closing down the beach home of their estranged father after his death by suicide. The four brothers seem nearly as estranged from each other as they were from their late father as the film opens and sibling rivalries soon make their difficult task even more painful. The two older brothers, Roger and Rick, find themselves most at odds. Rick's rage at their sometime abusive alcoholic father burns brightly. It is fueled in no small part by Roger's seeming lack of rage, and Rick's jealousy over the relationship Roger managed to maintain with their father through the years. The younger brothers serve mainly as witnesses and occasional peacemakers between their contentious older brothers. "Cold Harbor" is a character study. The plot itself is very simple: When they go to the police department to collect some of their father's belongings, they learn about a suicide note. Rick wants the note, but police consider it evidence and will only give him a copy. When the brothers later discover a nearly identical first draft of the suicide note at the home, Rick decides to steal the real suicide note from the police station and replace it with the earlier draft. The other brothers catch wind of his plan as the film works its way toward a moving, symbolic conclusion. The film boasts good performances by the leads, moody photography and an emotional honesty which will stick with you long after the film ends.