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Cold In July

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AgentPete

Capo Famiglia
Guardian
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May 19, 2014
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A straightforward thriller – not the most demanding entertainment, but perfectly OK with popcorn and a glass of Sancerre so thoughtfully provided by my local Everyman cinema. It falls to pieces in the third act, but frankly, many films do.

That’s how I read it – but comparing my reaction to the Observer’s Mark Kermode (I never read the reviews in advance) I’ve signally failed to appreciate the exquisitely-formed “genre literacy” of the writer-directors. Ah, so it wasn’t just trying to be a simple tale well told, then – it was really a postmodern exercise in self-referential pastiche, fluidly slipping “recklessly between the gruelling, the goofy and the gory”. Hmm.

When thrillers are no longer judged by how much they thrill, but rather on their ability to manifest “wildly veering tonal jolts, flipping like a catfish on a pole as it struggles to evade genre definition” then I think it’s safe to say we’re all in trouble. Or at least, waist-high in affectation.

Fortunately, the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw sees it more my way, concluding that it’s “disappointing and unsatisfying”. Yes, that would be the third act I mentioned above.

Worth seeing for a charismatic performance from Don Johnson; Sam Shephard is a tad too taciturn and stares longingly out of windows for most of his screen time; there’s a nasty reference to snuff porn that might disturb some folk, so be warned.
 
I thought this was a comment on the weather since it's been an abysmal start to the hottest(?) month of the year. I shall check Cold in July out. It's too wet and cold to do much else...
 
Really? That nasty in Canada? Strange. London UK has been very on-and-off so far, nothing much to suggest summer is really here. Wouldn't mind a medium-rare heatwave...
 
Goofy and gory, an uneasy juxtaposition. Trying to think of a book or film where it works. Raiders of The Lost Ark? No, it's not properly goofy, and the gore is cartoon gore if 'ouch'.
 
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