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Inspector Bellamy and Cold Weather have, frankly, a lot in common: a male detective with an interest in crime fiction (in Bellamy Georges Simenon and Agatha Christie take the places occupied by Arthur Conan Doyle and E.W. Hornung in Cold Weather) is assisted in an investigation by the woman he is closest to (Bellamy, his wife; Cold Weather, his sister); the first clues to the mystery are introduced in a motel room; an emphasis on dinner scenes and establishing the social life of the characters before establishing the crime; the integral role played by a frequent collaborator's score (Chabrol's son, Matthieu, in Bellamy; Keegan DeWitt in Cold Weather); adult siblings (Paul and Jacques, Doug and Gail) cohabitating, one noticeably more aimless than the other; overcast skies, the sea, and landscapes, namely the way landscapes appear from a moving car; the cars themselves, key participants in the action, indicators of character...

"There's no palm trees in Portland." It was this simple observation that changed the course of Aaron Katz's third feature from being a family drama into a thriller and may well change the course of his career. Not that any change is necessary on Katz's part, but "Cold Weather" represents the film that could push the conversation about the writer/director beyond the cineastes who bring up his name to impress in conversation like a well-kept secret, knowing full well that loaning the DVD double feature of his first two films "Dance Party USA" and "Quiet City" is akin to turning a friend onto some really good drugs. Whereas the director's last films indeed felt like trips - beautifully composed and immaculately realized dramas that captured the exuberance of youth - his latest, which sees Doug and Gail, a brother and sister (Cris Lankenau and Trieste Kelly Dunn) try...