The Film Class Junkie reviews Cold in July, a pulpy noir that will keep you guessing till the very last frame: starring Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepherd, Don Johnson and directed by Jim Mickle.
While plenty of revenge films before have focused on single-minded characters, often coming with exceptional skill, the protagonists of Blue Ruin and Cold in July are but everyday Joes. The startling effect of this ordinary veneer over a loaded genre produces a striking contrast, as well as a familiarity that brings the messaging that much closer to home.
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From the unexplained title, to the unresolved plot threads, the latest from genre-bending writer/director Jim Mickle and writer/actor Nick Damici is one contrary son of a gun. Adapted from Joe R. Lansdale’s source novel, it’s a thriller of three parts, all of them enjoyable, none of them especially well joined.
Set in small-town Texas in 1989 – cue terrible mullets and music – it begins with a scene of shocking bloodshed as family man Richard Dane (Michael C. Hall) defends his wife (Vinessa Shaw) and son (Brogan Hall) from an intruder. But instead of dwelling on the moral consequences of an ordinary joe taking a stand (a la A History Of Violence), the film takes a sharp left-turn into psycho-thriller territory when the intruder’s father (Sam Shepard) comes a-calling. Then, before anyone gets too comfortable, Don Johnson’s pig farmer turned- PI swings by – apparently straight from The Dukes Of Hazzard. It’s not long before violence engulfs them all once again.
It’s as if the filmmakers are scared of boring people (or themselves), which they haven’t done yet and never do here. Even so, the disparate plot elements and heated, serio-comic tone are difficult to assimilate. Though ostensibly the main protagonist, Dane’s motivations don’t quite hold water. Meanwhile, Damici’s crucial-seeming character disappears completely, and the frequent switches of pace and location make the eventual antagonists seem distant and unworthy of such vengeance; not something you could say about the recent Blue Ruin, for example. A longer film – or a slower one – might have landed all of its leaps.
Mickle and Damici deliver a tense redneck noir with a twist – and a few issues – but it’s more like a promising placeholder than the masterpiece they’re capable of.
Fans of “Dexter” will rejoice upon seeing “Cold in July.” It shows Michael C. Hall taking on a different kind of role than his forensic analyst by day/serial killer by night character from the popular Showtime series. What they’ll be most excited about is that “Cold in July” is a smart and mature film that has at least some semblance of resolution rather than the abomination that was Season 8 of “Dexter.”
