Cold Blooded

When I filed into a tiny cinema (160 odd seats) at Fantasia Fest, I was pretty sure I knew what I was in for. I'd seen the trailer. It was a crime movie; cops and robbers type stuff. I was expecting criminals and violence. While I got both in spades, I also got a whole lot that I wasn't expecting. Zoie Palmer is wonderfully subtle as Frances Jane, a disillusioned cop who's presented with the darkest kind of ethical dilemma. The real brilliance comes in watching her attempt to navigate it with a morally ambiguous thief (her assignment turned uneasy ally) hanging like a millstone around her neck. Ryan Robbins as Cordero is the very definition of a smooth criminal. The set is stark and void of anything remotely comforting. The size of the cinema fed the feeling of trapped desperation. The violence, though harsh and unforgiving, comes off as purposeful rather than gratuitous. The supporting cast all do great work with their roles, and I'm not ashamed to say I was legitimately terrified by William MacDonald's portrayal of the cold and calculating Louis Holland. So yes, it is about crime. It's also about what happens when the rules that govern your personal code of conduct are quite literally cut away. Director Jason Lapeyre treats Zoie Palmer's character to the most costly personal growth workshop I've ever seen. There are scenes that haunt me still, weeks later. Hopefully distribution isn't far off for this gem. If you're lucky enough to catch it at a festival, don't hesitate. It didn't earn an audience award for nothing. Oh, and bring someone with you, because there's nothing comforting about holding your own hand.

This is an example of a perfect low budget film. Faced with budget limitations talented filmmakers will find a way to embrace and capitalize on their limited means, either utilize the constraints imposed upon them or to work around them in such a way that they are not glaringly thrust into the limelight. In this way great films can be created regardless of the limitations imposed upon the production. Would it be a better film if more resources were available to the same cast and crew? Of course. But as it stands it's far more than good enough.

This is cleverly written with believable, interesting characters. They might surprise us with their actions, but they never behave in uncharacteristic ways - which is especially rewarding as it's easy to see where many high budget Hollywood films would have betrayed their own characters in the interest of "that's how we always do it", or "it's what the audience expects".

By showing clever restraint the film has minimal but effectively staged (and gruesome) violence, which is perfectly in keeping with this gritty thriller. When I say gritty, this movie is tough! It's not called Cold Blooded for nothing and I don't want to say anything about the shocking moments because I don't want to spoil the punch to the gut they deliver!

Intelligent, suspenseful and full of neat twists that feel real as opposed to "written", the performances are all top notch, the direction tight, I honestly can't find a thing wrong with this for a change, and you don't know how much that pleases me. And, for the record, the only reason I am not scoring it a solid 10 is because I am saving that for films that are not only expertly crafted, but have the additional intention and ability to do more for their audience than merely entertain. This isn't an "important" movie, it just is one helluva good one!

5.5 ? Really ? When all that Hollywood crap is getting 7's and 8's ? Very sad indeed. I however never base my viewing on these skewed ratings. I always examine the reviews and try to pick out those, who seem to give intelligent reviews, before watching a film. This piece of cinema was wonderful. An intimate drama with realistic characters and a true female hero, as opposed to the Hollywood glamour model FBI agents. This film has great tension and suspense; one of the best police dramas, which I've seen in quite some time. The plot and setting are minimal, but the characters are great, as is the acting. Wow! I have to write another line, although, I'm sure, that I've seen shorter reviews on here. What gives?

Don't know about the positive reviews of this movie. Over all a really bad experience. The only person you feel for during the whole movie is Ryan Robbins. The lady cop comes off as a complete moron who cannot think straight or do anything related to using common sense. Long boring corridor scenes with nothing much going on. Seems like they tried to make a classic in closed environment hoping that only acting is gonna pull through but nothing works.

Also the criminals in the movie seem to be so unprepared for anything that one fails to understand what were they thinking or why weren't they caught or killed by the police even before the incidents of this movie. They actually make office colleagues seem more dangerous. There are a lot of better movies worth your time out there. I would watch movie inspired by real events over this and I hate those things. Really suggest you avoid this.

This is a film that deals with a young woman, Frances, who is a rookie cop. Her duty is to guard a prisoner who robbed a jewelry and was knocked unconscious when he was arrested.

Frances is a smart, alert good cop and she is a nice foil to the prisoner called Cordero, who is equally sharp as her, but just on the other side of the law. The verbal parrying and banter between Cordero and Frances at the start of the film is good, and one starts off the film with rather high hopes for Frances.

However things take a turn for the serious when Cordero's crew mates come to pay him a visit. When Cordero is caught, he is with another accomplice who is, for some reason shot dead. Cordero learns that the official version of the events is that Cordero shot his accomplice, which Cordero swears up and down is false. The problem is that the main crew boss coming to get the diamonds from Cordero, is also going to come to kill Cordero b/c he thinks Cordero turned on the accomplice. The crew mates come and the battle between them and Frances ensues which is a very brutal and bloody one. There is an event that happens to Frances relatively early on in the film which was *very* difficult for me to watch even though I usually love gore and blood. Maybe it was the realistic way in which this scene was done, or maybe because Frances is a character you are rooting for, but whatever the case, it was hard to watch.

Having said that, the film carries on at a good level of tension, action, and a satisfying denouement with a cast that was pretty solid. Overall, a good action/crime film, just maybe not for the squeamish or those who cannot suspend disbelief.