The Cold Light of Day

This was a fairly interesting story but I didn't like the lead actor, Richard Grant, who played "Victor Marek." It's about a British cop ("Marek") trying to trap a sick child killer, and at the same time his mind is on a woman and her kid. He winds up using them as bait to get the killer. In doing so, he lost me.

He wasn't a "good guy," himself and certainly not a likable person that we are supposed to root for in the film. Even Richard Grant's looks in here (tell me that wasn't eyeliner on him) were annoying.

The best part of the film was the cinematography. This was a nice-looking film on VHS and it's too bad it isn't available on DVD. I wouldn't buy it, but I might rent it to catch the good photography.

well i watched this flick and had a feeling to check out the reviews online here. i wanted to see another film with good old richard e grant. was not disappointed. tis a good film. though a little warped. but the acting from REG is very good. seems like an odd number. reading the credits, seems like made in some european foreign country. perhaps made for tv. made for tv: normally a turn-off but this one is not too bad. but guy from hi-de-hi is not looking evil enough for his role. well, perhaps times have changed since it was made. check it out. depends on ur tastes but i was not disappointed. well-made flick. u want silence of the lambs, go rent it. this is an effort that hits the mark they intended. depends what ur into.

First let me say that one thing I LOVED about this film was the use of sound to set the mood - not noise and music but common every day sounds - the clinking of glass, the slamming of a cell door, the creak of a windmill the squeak of a child's swing, tires on pavement on and on -- and in moments when they were magnified -- just brilliant use of the ordinary to create the extraordinary.

On the whole, I am usually not too taken with foreign made (outside the USA & Canada) films so went into this with the idea I'll give it a few minutes - it's free on Netflix so nothing ventured nothing gained. Not being familiar with any of the actors my first reaction to Swaziland born Grant was Milquetoast - however, his passion in the role and believability took me quite by surprise - effective as an obsessed investigator looking into the brutal murders of three young girls. When, in a game of political chess, the wrong man is accused and commits suicide, effectively closing the case to further investigation, he leaves the department and personally takes the investigation to surprising lengths. Soliciting the help of a psychologist and his access to computers, he narrows down a locale to ferret out the perpetrator. He meets a homeless young mother (outstanding acting by Lynsey Baxter (The French Lieutenant's Woman))and sets her up as his housekeeper secretly using the daughter (a young Perdita Weeks) as bait.

The story effectively plays his obsession with nailing the homicidal pedophile against his growing affection for both the mother and daughter and he does a fine job of drawing you in to the conflicting emotions while leaving you unsympathetic to his using a child as bait for a serial killer. The killer is really rather brilliantly (and sickeningly) portrayed by the late Simon Cadell - Nice character development and surprisingly good insight into how a pedophile sees the world - a struggling mom in a war torn region protecting the innocence of her child, a detective who cannot let go despite the potential for heartbreaking results, a brilliant serial killer, all make for an edge of your seat thriller for the most part. Hauntingly beautiful locales in he Czech Republic. Drags in a few places but well worth a watch.

Others that gave this film low ratings are SO missing out. The character development is superb, the acting compelling, and suspense palpable in parts. No, it doesnt have desperate, flashy attempts at getting your attention. It doesnt need them. The introduction of Perdita Weeks was brilliant. Please dont shy away due to the poor reviews sprinkled in among true and brutally honest reviews. This one will stick with you for a long time...and I guarantee you'll be talking back to the television when you grasp the gravity of the developing story. Maybe you'll zhout about it... but you'll be held captive by this film until the very end.

In my opinion, this is one of the better movies to come out of Europe in the past decade. The film's power lies not, like so many of its Hollywood counterparts, in bombastic displays of action and violence, but rather in a well balanced mix of superb character development and a thoughtful but well-paced plotline. The film functions on many levels and probes deeper into the minds of its characters than almost any other film I've seen.