Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter

Director ~ Brian Kirk

Writers ~ Nicholas Jacobson-Larson, Dalton Leeb

2025 ~ Germany, Canada, United States

Stars ~ Emma Thompson, Judy Greer, Marc Menchaca

A solid thriller with a generic title distinguished by its focus on old person heroism-by-pragmatism, and by Emma Thompson-with-an accent. All the performances are great, snowbound northern Minnesota provides magnificent white vistas, and the joy is in watching our well-seasoned heroine use her wits to evaluate and deal with the situation when she stumbles upon a kidnapping. There’s a refreshing turn in seeing the usual Action Machismo – self-sewing a bullet wound, dashing for cover, loading guns – being carried out by a smart, somewhat unassuming old woman motived by little more than the stubbornness of caring, of not knowing how to not get involved. Respected older actors turning into action stars in late career is a trend usually reserved for the guys, the industry trying to squeeze some last virility out of them, so it’s nice to see the ladies cash in. In fact, this one, the writing debut of Dalton Leeb and composer Nicholas Jacobson-Larson, is definitely for the girls.

There are the expected plot holes inherent in the genre (wipe the glass!), but there’s plenty to admire in a script that is essentially a back-and-forth between two locations. There is nothing original, but it’s pretty, suspenseful, well played and entertaining.