Nicely Acted Night a Solid, if Minor, B-Grade Thriller
Chloe (Alice Eve) is on the verge of losing her daughter Sophia (Ursula Parker). Child Protective Services doesn’t approve of their living situation, the pair residing in the same hotel the single mother manages for Billy (Logan Marshall-Green), a local police deputy, that is well-known for prostitution and drug use. Chloe is a good parent, does everything she can for her child, and that includes keeping their home a haven safe from any of those activities. But the powers that be don’t see it that way, their officer giving them two weeks to find a new place to reside.
PHOTO: Sony
Things get worse. A Russian enforcer calling himself Topo (Bryan Cranston) has entered Chloe’s life. His compatriot, killed in an altercation with a local hooker, was carrying something in the car, a vehicle impounded by the police and an item the contract killer desperately needs. Topo wants Chloe to get it for him, and he’s not above threatening Sophia’s life as incentive to convince her to do it.
Cold Comes the Night is a B-movie noir handsomely mounted and professionally acted, both Cranston and Eve giving far more of themselves to the production than it probably deserves. The script, credited to director Tze Chun, Osgood Perkins and Nick Simon, doesn’t do a ton that isn’t expected, and other than a rather sudden bullet directed into the head of a relative innocent I can’t say I was ever shocked by anything that took place. The movie follows a familiar path towards its inevitable conclusion, and there’s not a ton more to add other than that.
But, as I’ve already stated, the film is effectively performed by its two leads, Marshall-Green adding admirable support in a key supporting role as someone far more involved with the tensely escalating situations than is originally surmised. Additionally, relative newcomer Chun shows solid chops behind the scenes, the pacing brisk and the visual milieu reliably titillating. By and large he refuses to go too far or overplay his hand, allowing events to play themselves out as naturalistically as possible (all things considered), the relationship between Chloe and Topo evolving with relatively easy candor as a result.
As early January releases go, Cold Comes the Night is better than most. At the same time, it’s obvious why it’s only getting a limited release coupled with simultaneous availability OnDemand. Had this been hitting theatres six decades ago, it would have been the second half of a studio-financed double-bill, the lesser attraction to be paired with a more high-profile event picture. Now, it’s the type of film the distributor shuffles into a handful of screens in lieu of a more aggressive Blu-ray and DVD release a few months down the line (this one’s already scheduled for a March 4 bow), and as such to expect it to be something of a minor masterpiece is probably asking for too much.
Film Rating: 2½ (out of 4)
