Starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and Vanessa Hudgens, it’s the story of the manhunt for creepy Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen back in the early 80s.
It’s barely getting a theatrical release, which is confusing, since I thought it was quite good. Very good acting. Some cliches in the script, which is to be expected with serial killer/police procedurals. But whatever, it was entertaining and thrilling. I liked it.
Nice review. Amazing that a movie with these two stars could be released and I never heard of it until now. Movie distribution remains a mystery to me. Two of my favorite actors; Cage can be hit or miss but in the right role he’s brilliant (The Weather Man is an underrated gem). I will seek this one out.
And what’s in a name? Robert Hanssen was also the real name of the FBI agent spying for Russia as portrayed by Chris Cooper in Breach, though with a slightly different spelling (an extra “s”). Never heard of this serial killer which is surprising since I am somewhat fascinated by the subject as I know you are.
Todd – I know, it’s so weird that they’re basically not releasing it. They’re releasing it VOD too. So I’m not sure why that is. The movie is fine, not an embarrassment, everyone’s good. Cage is really simple here, I love him when he keeps it simple. I love the Weather Man too – maybe his best performance?)
Cusack is tremendously creepy, without doing all that “look at how crazy I am” thing that actors-as-serial-killers get into. There are these monstrous individuals who walk among us – what are they like? What is their life like?
I didn’t have enough space in the review to get into my praise of the woman who plays Cusack’s wife – I don’t know who she is. She has one scene, and only one line, and she not only creates an entire three-dimensional person in that whole time – but we see their WHOLE relationship. He is such an isolated guy – we mostly see him by himself – but he did have a wife, so what the hell was going on there? That actress showed us “what the hell was going on” in 5 seconds of screen time. Brava!
Looked her up: Katherine LaNasa. She’s a choreographer, done lots of TV, I didn’t know who she was.
But if you have 5 seconds in a film – you have to be as good as she is!
I love that! Actors who register in small, one or two line parts are as impressive to me as a great star turn from a heavyweight. My favorite movie is Goodfellas, and there is a scene late in the film, right after Ray Liotta is arrested, where a cop walks in to the station with the drug paraphernalia, and the guy who has been questioning Liotta asks ” What do have there Jerry, what are they baking cookies, what have you got, is it good?
And Jerry the cop tastes the coke, realizes its real, looks up, and smiles. This actor, who has not been in the movie, looks like he has been working on this case for YEARS, his eyes have bags under them, he’s tired, and that smile shows that he knows he has made his case.
One brief reaction shot, no lines, GREAT performance. In a movie filled with authenticity, he adds even more.
Any time Cage is NOT doing his ” Nic Cage thing” he’s great. My favorite film of his is The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans, but there are plenty of great ones;-Matchstick Men, Adaptation, Bringing out the Dead, Leaving Las Vegas, Moonstruck, and perhaps the most overlooked film of all time, Red Rock West. (MUST see if you haven’t- same director, John Dahl, as The Last Seduction w/ Linda Fiorentino).
Even the ham can work in something like Face/Off. I just feel like he’s one of those actors, like Gene Hackman, who says yes to EVERYTHING. I wish he were more choosy. And yeah, The Weather Man is so good its amazing that so few have seen it.
I think I wrote a piece about The Weather Man – it was so mis-marketed that I didn’t want to see it. What was annoying about that is if it had been marketed as a bleak grim devastating drama, I would totally have been into it. I get that that’s not everybody’s taste, but it’s MY taste and I was so pissed off that it had been marketed as a wacky comedy, basically ASSURING that the film would be a bust.
Stupid. I thought he should have been nominated for an Oscar for that.
Yes, I love Face/OFF, and Red Rock West. I think sometimes he likes being a “tough guy” – and that gets tiresome. Here, in Frozen Ground, he is clearly tough (he’s a cop in a dangerous town) – but he’s not puffed up or macho. He’s quiet, thoughtful, intense, and focused – like a lot of cops are (or, detectives, to be more accurate). And it’s a slow build … as he realizes how big this case really is, and as he continues to encounter road-blocks from the police department – he starts to get more and more angry. It’s a good performance.
I absolutely love your description of that moment in Goodfellas – it’s been a while since I’ve seen it. Next time I see it I will be sure to look for that guy. Awesome.
I have been interested in serial killers for some time now and I am familiar with the real story upon which the movie is based.
Although Cage and Cusack have starred in some sub par movies over the last few years, they are both quite talented and give excellent performances in this effort. However, the real star of the film, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, is Hudgens, who makes her character look very real and believable.
Although the plot has been heavily misused in other films in the past and is not in itself very original, this is not your typical serial- killer movie. The movie manages to be compelling without going over the top with too much gory details. The atmosphere it creates is very authentic – it really takes you back 30 years ago in Alaska, when these gruesome events unfolded.