Lucy Fish
Contributing Writer
“Dead of Winter” tells the suspenseful, thrilling and emotionally intense story of a widowed fisherwoman who puts her life at risk to help a young woman escape from her kidnappers.
The film, starring Emma Thompson (“Cruella”), evokes a mix of sad, happy and anxious emotions, all of which contribute to the overall story. Each of the prominent characters has a devastating story that helps develop how they are viewed.
“Dead of Winter” begins with Barb (Thompson) driving through the snow to a lake to go ice fishing and getting lost, prompting her to stop at a house to ask the man (Marc Menchaca) who lives there for directions. After getting directions from the man at the house and setting up on the lake to ice fish, she hears a scream followed by a gunshot. She runs back to her truck and hides behind it so she can investigate what she just heard. She sees the same man she had talked to earlier chasing after and shooting at a young woman (Laurel Marsden) whose hands were tied together.
The story fills out from there. While watching Barb decide what she feels she needs to do to help the girl, there are flashbacks to Barb’s life with her husband, which help develop the understanding of her as a character, and indirect introductions to the other characters that help build personal opinions of the characters.
The movie atmosphere itself is very intriguing, with the film featuring its own score. Each song composed by Volker Bertelmann, known for his score in “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which won the Academy Award for best music (Original Score), builds the emotions and tense atmosphere of the movie, better helping the viewer fully grasp the intense emotions of the film.
“Dead of Winter” is showing in theaters and is rated R for “violence and language.” The running time is 1h 38m, with tickets for general admission costing $11.07.
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