Cold Road

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.

While awareness to the horrific crimes against women; specifically indigenous women, are underreported and not addressed with enough resources- this movie painfully depicts women (specifically indigenous women) as individuals with low IQ or rather limited problem solving skills. The entire storyline is riddled with super dumb a@@ internal conversations and events.

1. The main character is on the phone -steps from her car at a gas station filling it up before a long stretch of road (300+). She is on the phone with her sister when gas is stolen by way of the pump being removed from her car and added to the car next to hers. She doesn't notice this!!!!! She doesn't have eyes on her car she is steps away from as it is being refueled! AND then she doesn't notice that her car is NOT full and pays $80 for the gas! She gets back in her car after paying $80+ and doesn't notice the tank! She looks at the speedometer the ENTIRE movie! How? HOW?

2. Why is she using a MAP! A paper map and reading it on the side of the icey/snow and her low IQ dog is just siting in the middle of the road in the path of a huge 18 wheeler. He just sits there?! No DOG with common canine sense is just going to sit there watching a truck coming at high speeds. Back to the paper map! This story takes place in modern times. Her car had a flat screen in it! She has a smart phone! But uses paper maps. What?!

3. 18 wheelers do not exceed 80 mph or at best on a downhill slope with wind past 100mph. Her sedan was going between 80 and 120mph. How in the laws of kinematics does the truck catch up with her repeatedly? And when she sees the truck allows it to catch up with and only speeds up once it's on her bump. I can't with this movie!

4. She approaches a cop with a knife she took from the dinner bc she forgot it was in her hand. While I understand the point being made in that scene; it was poorly executed!

Director, please be mindful of how you depict the intelligence and problem solving skills of individuals whose story you are trying to tell!!! Indigenous women and women are NOT airheads. And neither are their dogs!

I only had to watch 19 minutes to give the movie 2 stars. I'm sure it won't be a masterpiece after this point. Because the woman playing the lead role won't learn acting as much as the dog next to her does in the remaining 1 hour and 20 minutes.

I call these kinds of movies undirected movies. Because there is a lack of direction. It's usually an average subject. A truck driver makes life difficult for people on a long road. He doesn't leave a single thing undone throughout the movie. But I'm on the truck driver's side here. A mentally poor woman who was very happy on her way to see her mother about to die didn't seem innocent to me.

Look at the characters, man. They're all caricatures. I only gave one star more for the dog's acting.

She breaks the car's lights instead of turning them off. It's not even funny.

I watched this on a whim. Never heard of or seen Roseanne Supernault before but she had a look that caught my interest. This felt very much like a Lifetime Channel movie, which isn't a bad thing, as those can be quite entertaining from the getgo. This movie started out a bit slow but I liked that it was somewhat of a slow burn. It allowed to get to know the main character as if you were on the road trip with her.

I found it somewhat relatable of going back to your old hometown after being away for quite a while. Where its a really long drive to get out towards a small town. The cold snowy setting and the music set the mood. I really did enjoy the soundtrack for this and thats what kept me along for the ride.

The film is quick to set up Tracy as someone who is a bit of a pushover and just lets people walk all over her. Didn't think that was necessary but it establishes that she is someone who feels alone. Her husband/significant other is the type who is more enthusiastic about his work life than his home life. It doesn't go any further than that or have it be a returning plot point. Its just presented early and forgotten.

I thought the dog 'Pretzel' made for the comic relief of sorts. When the tension would build, you could count on Pretzel to ease things up a little. I found it odd how the dog is the most calm and patient passenger. Never once saw the dog eat or drink anything. Only had to go to the bathroom a couple of times the whole trip. For me, I'd have liked if the film went on a bit longer and showed these sort of mundane moments just for the sake of bringing some realism. I'm very into road movies where you have maybe 1 or 2 characters for the majority. This kept to that with Tracy and Pretzel. I thought they were likeable characters.

The moment at the gas station was hilarious and frustrating at the same time. Goes to show that not everyone pays attention to the details when they are incredibly stressed out.

The one thing I did think was done well was when we see Tracey inside the car while speeding away. To see a character actually show the anxiety hit...that brought some emotionality to things.

I was thrown off a bit at seeing that this trucker took down another vehicle and actually left the driver for dead. That had me assume this was going to be more of a horror movie where the suspense would build and build. Thats not what this movie is. I would have liked to have gotten more of a thriller but I guess thats too cliche and overdone as it is.

The feeling of being helpless is where this movie goes. Showing how Tracy can't go to anyone for help because everyones a bit on the racist side. I've seen that feeling of helplessness happen quite often, to where you don't even feel safe when a police officer shows up. I'd prefer to have seen her have more of a confrontation with the officer just for the sake of drama...but it doesn't happen. She avoids the officer once she views him as an obstacle rather than a solution.

It was interesting to see what Tracy does once shes at the end of her rope. It was a nice change of pace to see that she was somewhat clever even though I would have taken several different approaches to the situation. It does get somewhat frustrating when things don't seem as clever as they should for her. I give props for at least showing the attempts. How the confrontation ends between Tracey and the trucker was satisfying enough.

By the time it got to the ending, it seemed relatable with going through hell just to get to your destination, when even that isn't exactly "home sweet home".

I've seen many comments in comparing this to DUEL. Yea...the basic premise is lifted right from it. Though I feel that DUEL worked because it was much more simple and because of the era it was made in. This film attempts to bring some sense of story aside from the truck bullying her on the road.

I did like Roseanne Supernault. Thats the type of actress I'd like to see more of just because shes different from the usual actress that would be in this type of role. I see women with this look and build quite often when out and about, but not so much in movies. I remember a few years back watching 'Alone' that had a woman being stalked on the road by a skeazy guy. It was a more traditional thriller/horror flick. That ended up boring the hell out of me to where I can't even remember how the second half of the film went. This movie kept my attention throughout and thats an accomplishment of the actress being interesting enough to watch. The facial expressions and attitude just really hit home with people I've known over the years who I've seen be defeated or having everything go wrong. That had me invested in this character.

I could go on and on about the good things and the faults. Overall, I was entertained enough to want to see whats gonna end up happening. There is symbolism and a layer of depth to the story. I definitely wanted more of the road trip. I wanted to get to know Tracy more. To learn more of her issues with her significant other, with her sister, with her mother, with her uncle. To learn of more of the hardships so that I can be more sympathetic towards her, rather than just sympathizing with her having a really crappy road trip. I wanted more obstacles in her way apart from the obnoxious truck driver. Could have had her get lost, get a flat tire, hitting a deer, having indigestion, having to stay at a shady motel, having the officer pull her over, and all the other annoying challenges that occur when on long drives. I feel that would have made this be a much more standout movie if the evil trucker was just one of many more obstacles.

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.