Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Eric Mandelbaum

Writers:

Michael Graf (writer)
Michael Caughill (writer) ...

Genre:

Crime | History

Plot:

Barbara Hoffman (Birch) is a University of Wisconsin science student. She is a part-time employee at a local massage parlor. She is also a killer. Now all Detective Lulling (Carradine) has to do is prove it. |

Plot Keywords:

Wisconsin | Murder | Madison Wisconsin | Poison | Life Insurance Policy

Cast

Thora Birch	...	Barbara Hoffman
Keith Carradine	...	Detective Lulling
Brendan Sexton III	...	Jerry Davies
Leo Fitzpatrick	...	Couture
Dean Winters	...	Ray Curtis
Scott Cohen	...	Eisenberg
Dan Moran	...	Harry Berge
Adam Ferrara	...	Burr
Colleen Camp	...	Mrs. Davies
Derek Cecil	...	Jim Doyle
Tony Cucci	...	Hanrahan
Marsha Dietlein	...	Sara
Ed Kershen	...	Ryan
John O'Creagh	...	O'Donohue
Jeff Burchfield	...	Brendan

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexual content, disturbing images and some drug material.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

Schenectady, New York, USA

Company:

Em & Me Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Jerry Davies opens his subpoena Barbara Hoffman's name is spelled "Barabara".

More Thora Birch Please...

Having read the book on which film was based, I was initially unsure as to how the film makers would be able to piece this story into a mere hour and an half. After all, it is very difficult to meld all of the details of this intricate story into a concise, yet still intriguing film. In my opinion this film pulled it off brilliantly.

I particularly liked the casting. Thora Birch was great and has really come into her own as an actress. Why she is not a bigger star, baffles me. Keith Carradine was fun to watch, as he has been in so many of the roles he has had in his long career, and Brendan Sexton is certainly a young actor to keep our eye on.

What impressed me most was the fact that this film looks like it was shot in the time period it is portraying. It does not look like some glossy Hollywood piece trying to represent a period in which most of those involved probably barely remember. I did however find the use of heavy color saturation to represent the flash backs difficult to follow at first.

All in all, I really enjoyed this film. It is not your average Hollywood fare and that is just the type of movie I want to see.