Cold Weather

Other than the films reviewed last week, which you still may have a chance to see, Netflix is also getting rid of the Portland, OR set "Cold Weather," written and directed by Aaron Katz in 2010. Portlanders will not want to miss this, if only to recognize some of the settings. Unfortunately you'll only have until tomorrow to check it out on Netflix Instant. The film is a detective dramedy. The story focuses on Doug, who has recently moved in with his sister, Gail, in Portland. Before moving to Portland, Doug was a forensic science student in Chicago, where he lived with his now-ex-girlfriend, Rachel. In Portland, Doug gets a job in an ice factory and befriends Carlos, who DJs on the side. Rachel arrives in Portland to train at the home office of the law firm she works for in Chicago. She suddenly disappears. Doug, Gail, and Carlos investigate. It's a very low-key indie movie that gets everything pretty much right. It requires some patience (the set-up of anything resembling a plot, for example, takes 40+ minutes and the film is only 90 minutes), but is overall rewarding in the end. The main actor, Cris Lankenau is not a very demanding on-screen presence. Still, he is able to create a likeable, smart character who becomes most interesting when he pops into Sherlock Holmes mode. The other actors are really good in their own subtle ways as well. The actor playing Carlos adds some light, playful moments to the film. The actress playing Gail is not in it very much, but when she is, she really nails the brother-sister chemistry. The actress playing Rachel is charming, funny, and generally likeable as well. The film was shot with the awesome Red One camera (think David Fincher's "Social Network") by Andrew Reed. Reed manages to capture the beauty of rainy, run-down Portland in a way someone nostalgic of the PNW can appreciate. Keegan DeWitt's minimal score is perfect for this kind of minimalist movie. Katz may be the next big mumblecore director (in my opinion, the movement could use a bit of a fresh voice; can we be done with the Duplass brothers please?!). With "Cold Weather" he's shown an acute ability to bring style and genre elements together in order to bring something original and absorbing to audiences. And though patience is a virtue when watching the film, patience with regard to starting it is not. Hurry up! Turn on the boob tube before it's too late!