In Cold Light, 2025.
Directed by Maxime Giroux.
Starring Maika Monroe, Troy Kotsur, Allan Hawco, Helen Hunt, Jesse Irving, Noah Parker, Patrick Sabongui, and David Haysom.
SYNOPSIS:
Fresh out of prison, Ava’s attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
As director Maxime Giroux’s crime drama In Cold Light shifts the film’s identity from scene to scene, it becomes increasingly apparent that he and screenwriter Patrick Whistler are plain lost on what to do with this premise. Its first act is promising enough, introducing Maika Monroe’s Ava as a drug dealer going to and being released from prison, and somewhat reconnecting with her estranged father Will (Troy Kotsur) following that while preplanning another scheme alongside her brother Tom (Jesse Irving), seen as the good one by dad even though he too is in on the crime while also hiding key aspects of his life such as that he has recently become a father.
Troy Kotsur is a gifted actor, here playing a rodeo rider dealing with mental and physical pain (the former of which directly correlates to Ava and some traumatic events involving mom), popping pills of his own, and it’s always a welcome sight when a film is comfortable dropping traditional dialogue conversations to lean into ASL. The filmmakers even find some clever uses for that communication during one of the only genuinely tense moments here. However, this is a film not worthy of his talent or of anyone else noteworthy attached, especially Helen Hunt popping up in a confounding role as a crime boss.
That setup, admittedly, leads to one shocking moment that could have led to something thrilling, worthy of the talented ensemble here. Unfortunately, all the filmmakers have in mind is shaking up the dynamics of Ava being on the run, whether it’s escaping crooked police officers, hiding with and protecting a baby, or indulging in some late theatrics to rescue family members. It all comes across as rather lifeless, devoid of actually doing anything with that setup from a character standpoint. Underwritten doesn’t even begin to describe it; it’s a challenge to care about what Ava is going through, considering the filmmakers give up on telling a story entirely and only want to manufacture thrills. To boot, they fail at it.
The real kicker is this moody, stylized flick (which actually includes a hammy shot that one assumes is intended to be the titular cold light) comes with a twist regarding betrayal that is so flat, primarily because the relevant character is one most viewers will have likely forgotten. No, that doesn’t mean in the intended manner, where once viewers see the character again, they remember, and everything clicks into place, but rather the Conor McGregor “who the fuck is this guy” meme personified. That’s without getting into how narratively baffling and all over the place the third act is; the conversation between Ava and Helen Hunt’s character is another such element that makes no sense whatsoever. And while Maika Monroe technically isn’t embarrassing herself, the otherwise reliable performer feels out of her depth here.
In Cold Light seems to tell a story about what it takes to escape certain lifestyles, habits, and dicey situations, and what it means to find peace and begin a fresh life. As mentioned, the setup is fine, and one does sense the potential to care about the characters. Then the rest of the movie happens, again, with a final 20 minutes so incoherent and disjointed that it makes one wonder what the goal even was here. It leaves one cold.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
