Movie Review: "Cold In July"

"Cold In July": C+. The action in the crime drama, Cold In July, starts immediately when Ann Dane (Vinessa Shaw) awakens her husband, Richard (Michael C. Hall), in the middle of the night after hearing strange noises coming from another room.  Just as many East Texas homeowners would be likely to do, Richard grabs his gun and within minutes has wasted the unarmed intruder with a sharp blast.  Richard is assured by the local sheriff, Ray Price (Nick Damici), that he has nothing to worry about legally, because Richard was justified in protecting his home and family.  Not only that, the dead man was a fugitive felon, Freddy Russell. Sheriff Price does add, almost parenthetically, that Freddy's father, Ben Russell, has just been released on parole from prison.

For reasons unexplained -- probably a sense of guilt -- Richard decides to attend the gravesite service. Before Richard can even exit his car at the cemetery, Ben Russell approaches him.  Ben is played by Sam Shepard, a veteran actor who is able to get a message across with body language, menacing stares and several subtle hints.  It is clear to Richard, based on his short conversation with Ben, that Ben will seek revenge for the killing of Freddy.  Richard, fearing for the safety of his own son, alerts his wife and Sheriff Price, but since Ben has done nothing provably illegal since his release, the best the police can offer Richard's family is surveillance.

At this point we are less than a third of the way through the movie, and I am crossing my fingers that this might be another sleeper in the same vein as 1992's One False Move, a crime drama set mostly in rural Arkansas and which is one of the most underrated films I've ever seen.  But those hopes are quickly dashed when the plot suddenly spins out of control into preposterous territory.

After a few days pass, Sheriff Price advises Richard that Ben Russell has been apprehended in Mexico for parole violation, and awaits extradition back to Texas.  Richard breathes a sigh of relief, thinking his problems with Ben are over. But then things start to get dicey when Richard notices an old FBI wanted poster in the sheriff's office.  The man in the mug shot is identified as Freddy Russell, but his face is obviously not the burglar shot and killed by Richard.  Who, then, was the dead guy?  Did the cops concoct this case of mistaken identity to set a trap for Ben?

The story gets very dark and is full of surprise twists, many of which don't add up.  We witness police corruption, samplings of snuff videos, creepy villains and Tarantinoesque bloodshed.  We are also treated to small doses of humor, most of which is supplied by Don Johnson playing private eye Jim Bob Luke, who is dressed like a rhinestone cowboy.  Johnson is so good in this role that it will be interesting to see if he's considered for a Best Supporting Actor nomination.  He is the only reason I raised my original grade of "C."

The screenplay was written by Damici (the actor who plays Price) and is based on a novel by the prolific Joe R. Lansdale.  Damici should get credit for setting the tone and establishing riveting tension throughout many scenes.  But this is mostly outweighed by the total unlikelihood of the changes undergone by the main character.  As the story advances, Richard does a complete about face both in his makeup and in his sense of family duty.  The filmmakers fail to present logical explanations for this turnabout.  There is a difference between a character progressing or regressing in stages from beginning to end, and a character undergoing an abrupt change without exhibiting in a sensible way what got him there.  I don't care if Richard Dane is from East Texas or East Bethel.  Once he starts acting out of character the story goes from quirky to unbelievable.