Dead of Winter

by Mike McGranaghan

This year, a new category will be added to the Oscars honoring the best achievement in casting. I think they should give it to whoever came up with the idea to cast Judy Greer as a villain in the thriller Dead of Winter. The actress has forged a successful career playing best friends, caring moms, and kooky coworkers. Here, she gets a chance to play someone whose fears have guided her into monstrous behavior. The typically excellent Emma Thompson is the nominal star, but Greer is the engine that drives the plot.

Barb (Thompson) is a widow living in snow-covered Minnesota. While driving out to a lake where she and her late husband used to spend time, she discovers that a teenage girl, Leah (Laurel Marsden), has been kidnapped and is chained up in the basement of a cabin. That cabin belongs to “Purple Lady” (Greer) and her husband “Camo Jacket” (Marc Menchaca). Purple Lady (named for the bright purple coat she wears) is clearly behind the crime; her references to illness and a surgeon hint at its purpose. Barb attempts to rescue Leah without being caught by the criminals.

Writers Nicholas Jacobson-Larson and Dalton Leeb have concocted a very clever story. Suspense comes from Barb’s efforts to go undetected. There are scenes where she creates a diversion to get Purple Lady and Camo Jacket away from the cabin. Then she sneaks inside, looking for a way to set Leah free. You get that specific nail-biting tension that comes when a movie character risks getting caught inside enemy territory. Barb also uses the frigid elements against her opponents, setting traps that expose them to dangerous cold. Imagine Home Alone with ice instead of paint cans and tarantulas for an idea of what to expect.

Director Brian Kirk (21 Bridges) and cinematographer Christopher Ross (Yesterday) give Dead of Winter an appropriately seasonal style. Everything is cold and chilly looking, with muted colors. In fact, the only real color in the movie comes from Purple Lady’s coat, a feature that allows her to stand out in an ominous way, almost as though she’s dominating the frozen landscape itself.

Greer does that very special thing actors sometimes do when playing bad guys: she maintains the character’s humanity. You won’t condone a single thing Purple Lady does in the film. You will, however, come to understand why a very personal matter has driven her to a dark, dark place. Spouting profanity and effortlessly shooting firearms, Greer creates one of the most memorable cinematic villains of the year. Thompson is excellent, too, credibly tackling a thick Minnesota accent and projecting the well of compassion that drives Barb.

As with many thrillers, Dead of Winter paints itself into a corner at the end by attempting to go out with a huge bang. What transpires is pretty far-fetched, with at least one or two gaps in logic. Even with that mild stumble, this remains an effective, entertaining picture that keeps you nice and tense for the majority of its running time.

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