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.

I was initially drawn into picking up the 2023 thriller "Cold Road" from the movie's cover. And the fact that it was a movie that I had never seen before definitely also helped to make me want to watch it.

However, I have to say that the concept of the story, with one or more persons being harassed by someone in a truck, is something that has been done countless times before, so it wasn't as if writer and director Kelvin Redvers was reinventing the genre here. But there was something that worked about the narrative, especially because it was made in a way where you could almost feel Tracy's desperation and frustration with the situation. And leading actress Roseanne Supernault really took the narrative and made it work, made it hers.

I was not familiar with leading actress Roseanne Supernault, but she was really well-cast for the role and she carried the movie quite nicely with her talent and on-screen presence. Actually I wasn't familiar with anyone on the cast list, and that is something I do enjoy when I sit down and watch a movie with unfamiliar faces and talents, and thus not associating the actors and actresses with previously portrayed popular roles.

Despite the fact of "Cold Road" coming off as just another highway harassment movie, it actually is well-worth checking out. I was genuinely and pleasantly entertained throughout the course of the 100 minutes that the movie ran for.

My rating of writer and director Kelvin Redvers's 2023 thriller "Cold Road" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.

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.

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.

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.