Cold Road

This is not a movie about MMIW, and it doesn't give justice to discussions about racism in the far north. It's awkward, non-sensical, cringey and writes the woman lead as a moron. Watch literally any other movie to support Indigenous cinema. I do not want curious viewers looking to support Indigenous cinema to waste their time in this movie. It doesn't work as a thriller, it doesn't educate, it's not edifying.

It's hard to describe how incomprehensible the lead's decision making is. It's frankly insulting to the audience. And no, her being in grief doesn't explain it. Oh well, the concept was interesting but the delivery...oof.

As a huge fan of Roseanne Supernault, I really wanted to like this movie. Unfortunately, a terrible script made this movie impossible to like. As someone who grew up in the north, like Supernault's character, I found it difficult to believe she would need to stop and map out her trip on a drive back to her home town to see her ailing mother. That was early in the show and the far-fetched scenarios just got worse as the movie progressed - and it was just one unlikely scenario after another. The tension between Supernault's character and her sister seemed unnecessary and added nothing to the story.

This Tracy has zero time management skills and delusional. All this wouldn't have happened if she's just selfish enough to mind her own business. Also, who the heck doesn't check their oil level after filling them up?! Who speaks on the phone at the gas station?! And that dog with zero survival skills?! You couldn't move when the truck was approaching you?! The only fun thing in this movie for me was Optimus Prime dupe truck, that's all.

But anyways, screw the truck driver and whoever shares the same behavior with him. If there's Cold Road 2, it should be about harassing the truck driver next.

I literately created this account for the sole reason to warn potential viewers of how incredibly bad this film was. I am uncertain whether the nonsensical script is worse or the school play level acting. My wife and J had to convince ourselves that the main character was a special needs individual to justify her behavior/dialogue....but when she has a brief exchange with the police officer in the diner parking lot, it is quite clear that the setting is within a parallel universe in which intelligence quotient is non existent. Even the dog is dumb. This one is a solid zero. An absolute disaster of a film.

Canadian films have a reputation for being absolutely awful. Though there's a few exceptions like The Red Violin, and even some cult classics like Cube, most of what the country turns out is insipid garbage. Because of this I was reluctant to go see this film, but I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised.

The Bad: The film is a somewhat slow to get started, and the script in some of the early scenes feels clumsy. Those who are patient with this movie are rewarded, however, as the film finds it's footing around the 30 minute mark and quickly improves.

The Good: Cold Road is realistic, perfectly capturing the creepiness and isolation of Canada's north, and the feeling one gets trying to make their way from one tiny remote community to the next. The heroine is believable, using her brains to survive despite being terrified and alone, and the threat of the man stalking her is intensely relentless.

If you're looking for a high octane / smooth brain Hollywood flick Cold Road isn't for you. It's an intelligent slow burn of a film made on a modest budget but well written, acted, and produced.

Solid, entertaining and highly recommended. Eight stars out of ten.