Cold Blood

Haven't seen a crime thriller this good in ages, with such fast moving pace but excellent character development at the same time.

The screenplay is exciting and observant of human psychology. The acting is superb, and I guess the directing had a lot going for it too. Like the perfect storm,this just all came together and did a job of stirring me up good.

The tension built up from the start with Addison and what we learn about him and his coach. The relationship between the sheriff and his daughter, and the how the men treated her, and her stoic dealing with it...wow, I could not have handled it.

The relationship between the siblings was ambiguous but inspiring at the same time. The relationship in the family between the spouses and the son was written with such deft strokes which said so much.

The actors were fabulous. Especially at the dinner table at the climax of the story. The mother, Sissy Spacek, had such easy going wisdom about her but exploded with outraged indignation when pushed beyond the limit.

Loved the way the brother got the "L" word out of the protagonist in the climactic denouement. And it left you in the end wondering how the story would go on with our antiheroes.

One of those screenplays where you just fall in love with the bad guy and it just kills you to know he is fated, and that he has written his own tragedy as well as having been written by it.

Look forward to more of Zach Dean's screenplays.

Deadfall (2012)

** (out of 4)

On the eve of Thanksgiving, brother and sister Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) head off into different directions in blizzard conditions after a failed robbery. While he's running around causing more mayhem, Liza meets a boxer (Charlie Hunnam) recently released from prison. The two strike up a friendship and head off to his parent's (Sissy Spacek, Kris Kristofferson) house where the brother has also found his way to. DEADFALL is a thriller from director Stefan Ruzowitzky but one really has to wonder what went so wrong with this thing. There aren't any thrills, the story itself is downright boring and the so-called character development is rather laughable. I'm really not certain what they were trying to do with this thing but in the end it's just a complete waste of talent and the viewer's time. The biggest problem is without question the screenplay that just never comes to life as we're introduced to characters that we've seen way too many times before and this film doesn't do anything new with them. Every twist and turn in this picture is something you'll see coming from a mile a way and it all leads to a rather embarrassing and laughable ending. Several subplots are introduced to the film but these here just seem to happen for no reason and they're never explained or revisited later in the film. The interesting cast is the only thing that keeps this from being a complete disaster. Bana is actually very good as the cold-blooded killer but it's too bad they didn't write a better role for him. Wilde is also very good in her supporting role as the sister. Kate Mara is also good as a deputy being abused by her sheriff father, although this here is another subplot that makes no sense. Both Spacek and Kristofferson are pretty much wasted but it's nice seeing them. DEADFALL lacks any tension, lacks any development and in the end it's just a complete mess that's really not worth sitting through.

Quite a good little crime drama with a snowy backdrop and isolation as an insistent threat. The tension is woven with the back stories of those involved all leading to an inevitable confrontation and a predictable solution.

Getting there is the fun and this movie delivers enough action and suspense to keep one's interest and it has a semi-stylish tone that is better in the action department then in the character's and their development. The acting ranges from the intense too intensely wooden. Eric Bana is engaging in an aloof amalgamation of insanity and infantile. The other male lead (Charlie Hunnam) barely registers even though he is given the most screen time.

There is very little invested in the female Deputy and her Sheriff Dad, and the conflicted Parents. Some effort is made in the end to strengthen these complex situations but it is really rushed and rather anti-climactic.

It is best when things are on the move and the hunt is on and at worst in the convoluted love story in the middle. Overall it is a good thriller that can be enjoyed for its moving parts, despite the stale and stoic presentation of psychological situations that are presented in such shallowness as to be distracting.

"Deadfall," is the story of a brother and sister, Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) ,that decide to split up and go their separate ways after a botched robbery and car accident. Through a chance meeting and a twist of fate, the brother and sister are again reunited on Thansgiving day, one that turns out to be anything but a great Holiday for all parties (the siblings, a young police woman, a husband and wife, and Liza's new love interest, a former Olympic medalist boxer that has just got out of prison.

The Good: The acting all around was solid. Eric Bana pulls this one off well especially considering he had to kill his Australian accent in favor of a southern U.S. one. Olivia Wilde also pulled off her role, but it's hard to tell, and I am definitely biased as she is great eye candy, and has such beautiful sexy eyes. Charlie Hunnam who plays an ex-Olympic Boxer turned ex-con, shows some skill as well and proves why everyone loves the "Son's of Anarchy" series.

The writing was well done, and the setting and scenery does nothing to hurt a good movie. There are a few action scenes that keep you from losing interest through the drama. Once again having the distraction of the delicious Olivia Wilde also does the trick as well. The intertwining stories which sometimes can be overused and cliché these days was done in a rather good fashion that made it a worthy way of making a movie. The character's themselves were well built so that you find yourself not really hating any of them, and then again don't love any of them either, which is a real credit and not easy to do without making people lose interest and feel indifferent altogether.

The Bad: I would have liked at some point to have seen a lot more of the actual robbery. Kris Kristofferson , although supposed to be playing a hardened ex-detective, still comes off a little too wooden. I also, personally anyway, can't stand Treat Williams, who is a B-movie guy at best.

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Perhaps the reason this film is not meeting with a better reception has to do with our current situation of senseless killings that are happening throughout the nation. Had t been placed in the theaters at a different time it might have been better appreciated. The script by Zach Dean is tight and multifaceted in meanings, the direction by Stefan Ruzowitzky keeps us in suspense until the final frame, and the cast of actors is unusually fine. It is a fine little film and deserves more attention.

The title DEADFALL is translated by the dictionary as 'A trap for large animals in which a heavy weight is arranged to fall on and kill or disable the prey.' How that title applies to his story is one of the subtle strong points in this dissection of three dysfunctional families. Siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) are on the run from a casino heist gone wrong. When a car accident leaves their wheel man and a state trooper dead, they split up and make a run for the Canadian border in the worst of circumstances - a near whiteout blizzard. While Addison heads cross-country, killing everyone who crosses his path or who could provide transportation possibilities, Liza is picked up by ex-boxer Jay (Charlie Hunnam) who has just been released from prison for fixing a boxing match and is en-route for a Thanksgiving homecoming with his parents, June (Sissy Spacek) and retired sheriff Chet (Kris Kristofferson). Following Addison's wake of killings the sheriff (Treat Williams) loses many of his men and ridicules his new deputy daughter (Kate Mara). The story all come together at the Thanksgiving dinner at June and Chet's place - where the three families' ties are strained to the breaking point. It's there the siblings are reunited in a terse and thrilling showdown that pushes the bonds of family to the limit.

The freezing cold of the blizzard backdrop is juts right for the tension that pervades this story. The original musical score by Marco Beltrami underlines all the facets of this tale. While every one in the cast is excellent, it is Eric Bana that pulls of a very well written role in a manner that despite his actions he never loses our empathy.

Grady Harp