Cold Brook

Suspend your cynicism and expectation of fancy CGI glitz. Enjoy this movie about friendship, small town life and the choices who make us who we are.

I didn't expect much from this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. No, it's not a big budget, CGI, or agenda driven picture, it's just a nice story with no gratuitous sex, violence, or language. How refreshing.

It would be nice if more movies like this were made today.

This movie is a pleasure to view. William Fichtner is one of the most under-rated actors of his generation and now with this movie he demonstrates his talent as a director. The friendship between the two leads comes over as very genuine and their disparate family lives adds to the depth of this film. A sleeper gem.

It's a William Fichtner exercise, written by and directed and starring with Kim Coates, shot around western New York, most recognizably in East Aurora. The cast is good, the buddy part a little overplayed, as though he wanted a buddy flick,then threw in the ghost. Robin Weigert is under utilized, and Harold Perrineau is okay as the ghost slave looking for his home, though why a New Orleans slaver owned land in wny is a minor puzzle. A fun and charming piece, locals will enjoy local touches. Not all it could have been, but watchable. When the ghost puts a stolen deed back in the locked display, it is a reminder that this is a ghost story that will never scare you. The ending seems like an afterthought, with Fichtner and Weigert renewing their vows, though it would be a better written script to have tossed an upcoming anniversary in.... Roger Ebert called it under imagined, which seems apt.

But charming and watchable.

In the case of COLD BROOK, home is where we find our peace, and the proverbial "heart" dwells at home, in nature, and among friends. At least, that's the message I got from this precious gem of a film.

When two co-workers discover a lost soul, it is in helping the stranger that they unearth their rooted humanity, despite dire consequences.

Scenes of a tentative marriage are revealed, but when the stakes become searingly present at a do-or-die moment, trust and united strength prevail.

Some sympathy is evoked for the antagonist, a security guard who takes his job a bit too seriously (think wannabe cop) over his actual duties of keeping "do not touch" and visitor closing times, per art museum rules and regulations. When his albeit imagined authority is of no consideration, after an actual violation occurs, I couldn't help but think, "aww, poor thing."

The direction is clear, the actors are exquisite, and the photography is idyllic; above all, the story engagingly unfolds without beating us over the head with a lot of flash and noise.