There is so much that I could say about this movie. It fooled me, it's much more complicated than it seems and at the same time it angered me. There are things that are suggested here (social commentary for lack of a better word) that would make a lot of people angry. And yet, there have been times when I have felt that maybe if this could occur...it might just be the only way to change a situation.Can doing seemingly bad things actually be for the greater good? I'm sure i'm puzzling the heck out of a lot of people right now, but i'm just fired up. How about I actually talk about this movie for a minute?
Well, to be frank it's an absolute mess. The acting is only passable and at times laughable...there are cliches strewn throughout, and one scene that makes me wonder if Jessica Biel included it in her audition tapes for Wonder Woman! Fight that dog woman, after all you suddenly have super strength. That's the thing, part of this movie is laid out like any number of cheesy B movie thrillers, and then somewhere in the middle it becomes a completely different movie. What you see is not what you think you are seeing...surprise!
A quick synopsis...Welcome to Cold Rock, where we learn that the town used to be prosperous, but then the mine shut down and it kind of went to hell. All these poor kids running around in tattered clothing because their parents just can't provide. The children are suffering...and disappearing. Enter an old folk legend "The Tall Man"...he's the one that is taking all of the children. And to ensure that he's stopped we have an FBI guy that just seems to live in this town and a sheriff that apparently lives at the diner, because he's always there. In one of the scenes that made me almost laugh out loud, when Biel's character is found cut, bloody, and bruised in the road...where do you think the FBI guy takes her, to the hospital? No, he takes her to the diner, because that's where the Sheriff lives of course, and so all the locals that are there can gape and stare at her huddled, freezing body. I was seriously rolling my eyes, but things are really not what they seem to be, so the joke was on me of course.
And what about Jessica Biel's character? We are introduced to her when one of the young-un's is about to give birth and momma didn't know. Biel doesn't know how to deliver this child, but it's a breach birth and she miraculously gets it breathing so it can go home to the mom and alcoholic abusive father that apparently knocked up his daughter..this town is just full of great people isn't it; I just want to move there now! And then there is one of the local women that lost her child too and Jessica just wants to help her by giving her some coffee, but the woman recoils and rejects her. Hmm, seems like Jessica is the only good person in this town, or the only one with any sense. We even find that she has a child and that child stays with some other woman...is it the nanny? I don't know, but they sure do play well together. And she will fight to protect this child, man will she fight...run down a moving truck, jump on it, fight the driver, crash through the window...yee-haw! This leads to the diner scene I described earlier and from then on this movie takes a severe left turn and you are not watching the same movie anymore. And man it is preachy and pretentious, and I felt robbed as a viewer.
Ok, so it's nice to see some supporting roles from that chick in Supernatural and William B Davis (Cancer Man from the X-files) as the sheriff that lives at the diner. But it would have been even better if his acting would have been just decent...it's not. She however, does a fine job and is probably the best actress in the whole affair, so i'm going to go look up her name...Samantha Ferris. Oh and Jessica Biel's name is Julia Denning, not that it matters that much because her acting is fairly awful. Don't you just love movies where people get dragged behind a vehicle and their pants are not even torn? I've fallen off a skateboard and torn "toughskins" going a lot slower.
I guess the directing is ok, I liked Pascual Langier's earlier French work. It's just that this movie doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a thriller, is it a social commentary on children's welfare in the modern society...is it all about sherrif's that live at diners.... The frustrating thing about this review is that I cannot reveal the secret behind this movie. I could talk about a lot of my feelings if I did, but i'm going to be a good critic and not spoil it for anyone that might actually want to see what I am so incensed about. Music, if this film had any music, it did not enhance the film at all...did I even hear music?
Is this a good movie? No, it's not, it has a severe identity crisis and fools the audience in an unfair way...then hits you over the head with it's "message". Oh and I just love movies that feature hallways in creepy places with flickering lights...because apparently they never pay their electric bills or have them come out to check it or...i'm done with this review now.
5.5 out of 10, because the movie does get better after what I have mentioned, but not by much! And it actually is trying to say something about society and it's children. If you do decide to watch it for whatever reason though, I would love to discuss what I can't here. I'm just curious as to if you would feel the same way I do now.
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