Cold Blooded

When I filed into a tiny cinema (160 odd seats) at Fantasia Fest, I was pretty sure I knew what I was in for. I'd seen the trailer. It was a crime movie; cops and robbers type stuff. I was expecting criminals and violence. While I got both in spades, I also got a whole lot that I wasn't expecting. Zoie Palmer is wonderfully subtle as Frances Jane, a disillusioned cop who's presented with the darkest kind of ethical dilemma. The real brilliance comes in watching her attempt to navigate it with a morally ambiguous thief (her assignment turned uneasy ally) hanging like a millstone around her neck. Ryan Robbins as Cordero is the very definition of a smooth criminal. The set is stark and void of anything remotely comforting. The size of the cinema fed the feeling of trapped desperation. The violence, though harsh and unforgiving, comes off as purposeful rather than gratuitous. The supporting cast all do great work with their roles, and I'm not ashamed to say I was legitimately terrified by William MacDonald's portrayal of the cold and calculating Louis Holland. So yes, it is about crime. It's also about what happens when the rules that govern your personal code of conduct are quite literally cut away. Director Jason Lapeyre treats Zoie Palmer's character to the most costly personal growth workshop I've ever seen. There are scenes that haunt me still, weeks later. Hopefully distribution isn't far off for this gem. If you're lucky enough to catch it at a festival, don't hesitate. It didn't earn an audience award for nothing. Oh, and bring someone with you, because there's nothing comforting about holding your own hand.

If I had to use one word to describe this movie, it would be : HALETANT. Didn't find the perfect translation for this, but maybe the closer would be gasping, panting ? You know, this thing with your respiration, which keep your breath in suspense and give the impress to your heart that it made a marathon and it can rest for the moment cause it's not finished ..

Well, this ..

When I returned at the hostel after that (and didn't returned right after cause spent some time outside before), my heart was still beating like this, still under the emotions that this movie gave me !! It was incredible.

From the moment Frances (played by Zoie Palmer) crosses the Security guard (played by Samantha Kaine) door, you just have the impress that it's an other world behind, which is presented to her. And this feeling is accentuated with the contraste of the music : when Frances appears back, the music is pretty cool, like if the character was confident ; And after this door, little by little, the ton changes, the music too. But also the light, the atmosphere darkens. Even the character face is changing..

And I'm not going to tell you the movie to keep you the surprise and make you discover it by yourself for sure, so will going to talk now only about it in a general way.

In a general way, Jason plays a lot with this heavy atmosphere, the lights, the sound, the noises. With sometimes, accentuating it with sometime, you know these noises we only hear when there is silence in the room, during night for example, and you just focus on this little noise you never realized about it before. At home it could be the fridge noise, or the "bzzz" of the light .. Yes, this "bzzz" ... that you can hear in this movie, which keep your heart in suspense, ready to bound in the next minute. And all of these, strengthen this feeling of "Seuls au monde", (characters) cut with the rest of the world and stuck there. All together.

Cold Blooded is one of these amazing thrillers which make you want to know what will happen in the next minute, how, and take some characters by affection, and hate some others. If there are some great actions, violence, sometimes gore things, it's also well combined with some parts very well done where this silence and atmosphere could say more that words. And talking about words, my poor English made me miss some words or expressions, but it didn't impede me to understand the most of the interesting dialogues and enjoy the movie.

About the characters, I would say that EACH, offer to us here an admirable performance !

Ryan Robbins is really amazing as Cordero, he makes us smile and laugh sometimes in this heavy situation, but also he make us have some good affection to him, it's a character which we attach easily to him and I really loved his exchanges with Frances.

William MacDonald, who plays L.Holland is very remarkable in this role ! The big bad guy who is ready to everything (yes EVERYTHING !) to hit his goal .. He gave me chills, and continued to amazed me more and more along the movie, saying myself "This guy is crazy and dangerous ! better no play with him.." - Indeed, when Holland wants something, he's not going to think what is the best decision etc .. no, he plunge in the thing without think and without pity, without any feelings too. Yes, this face which let transpire nothing, no emotion .. just wow. Well done Mister.

As for Huse Madhavji and Sergio Di Zio, a big applause to these two also for their performances. I discovered Huse in "Saving Hope" and Sergio in "Flashpoint" and was really glad to see them in an other stuff ! Sergio, you just gave me more stress with your character in Cold Blooded lol, really well done.

And ... Zoie. I saw all she made as TV, show, movie, in different roles .. and she still has success to amaze me.. She offers us a Frances, very touching and very strong in same time. Sometimes shaking in front of the enemy, hesitating, but so brave that it will not make her be afraid and stop ! For me Frances is a Warrior with a big W ! She's just incredible, a character also very loyal with her job to the bitter end, and who never give up despite all she takes. The only woman, all alone in the middle of this men "sh.t". Seriously, big big big Bravo for your incredible performance Zoie ! Very impressive wow ..

So, to finish, this movie is for me a real success and a great one that I really recommend to see, and will keep you along ... "Haletant".

This is a film that deals with a young woman, Frances, who is a rookie cop. Her duty is to guard a prisoner who robbed a jewelry and was knocked unconscious when he was arrested.

Frances is a smart, alert good cop and she is a nice foil to the prisoner called Cordero, who is equally sharp as her, but just on the other side of the law. The verbal parrying and banter between Cordero and Frances at the start of the film is good, and one starts off the film with rather high hopes for Frances.

However things take a turn for the serious when Cordero's crew mates come to pay him a visit. When Cordero is caught, he is with another accomplice who is, for some reason shot dead. Cordero learns that the official version of the events is that Cordero shot his accomplice, which Cordero swears up and down is false. The problem is that the main crew boss coming to get the diamonds from Cordero, is also going to come to kill Cordero b/c he thinks Cordero turned on the accomplice. The crew mates come and the battle between them and Frances ensues which is a very brutal and bloody one. There is an event that happens to Frances relatively early on in the film which was *very* difficult for me to watch even though I usually love gore and blood. Maybe it was the realistic way in which this scene was done, or maybe because Frances is a character you are rooting for, but whatever the case, it was hard to watch.

Having said that, the film carries on at a good level of tension, action, and a satisfying denouement with a cast that was pretty solid. Overall, a good action/crime film, just maybe not for the squeamish or those who cannot suspend disbelief.

5.5 ? Really ? When all that Hollywood crap is getting 7's and 8's ? Very sad indeed. I however never base my viewing on these skewed ratings. I always examine the reviews and try to pick out those, who seem to give intelligent reviews, before watching a film. This piece of cinema was wonderful. An intimate drama with realistic characters and a true female hero, as opposed to the Hollywood glamour model FBI agents. This film has great tension and suspense; one of the best police dramas, which I've seen in quite some time. The plot and setting are minimal, but the characters are great, as is the acting. Wow! I have to write another line, although, I'm sure, that I've seen shorter reviews on here. What gives?

Very dull and boring movie. Very predictable and underwhelming villain. Little to no action and poor script and plot. Pass on this one.