Whiteout (2009)

U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko tracks a killer in Antarctica, as the sun is about to set for six months.

Director:

Dominic Sena

Writers:

Jon Hoeber (screenplay), Erich Hoeber (screenplay)

Stars:

Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Beckinsale	...	Carrie Stetko
Gabriel Macht	...	Robert Pryce
Tom Skerritt	...	Dr. John Fury
Columbus Short	...	Delfy
Alex O'Loughlin	...	Russell Haden
Shawn Doyle	...	Sam Murphy
Joel Keller	...	Jack
Jesse Todd	...	Rubin
Arthur Holden	...	McGuire
Erin Hicock	...	Rhonda
Bashar Rahal	...	Russian Pilot
Julian Cain	...	Russian Co-pilot
Dennis Keiffer	...	Russian Guard
Andrei Runtso	...	Russian Guard
Roman Varshavsky	...	Russian Guard

Storyline

U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko is three days from the end of her tour at an international research station in Antarctica after which she'll resign. An incident from her past haunts her. The continent's first winter storm is coming when a body, wearing no gear, is discovered in the tundra. She investigates, soon finds more bodies, and must find a motive and a murderer before the storm and her departure. A U.N. agent, Robert Pryce, appears, seemingly out of nowhere, to help. An aging physician about to retire, a nervous mission chief, a downed Soviet plane, and the weather's deadly elements add to the story. Can Carrie trust Pryce and does she still have what it takes?

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Plot Keywords:

antarctica | u.s. marshal | investigation | winter | geologist | 

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Taglines:

See Your Last Breath.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, grisly images, brief strong language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. [Japan] Warner Bros. [United States]

Country:

USA Canada France Turkey

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

11 September 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terror en la Antártida

Filming Locations:

Boucherville, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,915,104, 13 September 2009, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$10,275,638, 17 December 2009

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,201,122

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Both Kate Beckinsale and Alex O'Loughlin played vampires: Kate in Underworld (2003) and Alex in Moonlight (2007).

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Goofs

Kate's pistol changes in the middle of scenes. Early on, she opens a file drawer and we see a small Glock pistol in a shoulder holster. She has a flashback and then retrieves a different, full size pistol in a belt holster from the drawer. Later in a outdoor battle, she pulls the large pistol from a shoulder holster. When she drops the pistol we see it is again the small Glock.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Russian Pilot: [about the vista] Amazing, eh?
Russian Co-pilot: How much longer?
Russian Pilot: Six and a half hours.
Russian Co-pilot: Let's do this now.
Russian Pilot: So soon?
Russian Co-pilot: I want to get it over with.
Russian Pilot: Okay. Fine.

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Crazy Credits

The opening title is formed from ice and zooms toward the screen.

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Connections

Featured in Richard Roeper & the Movies: The Worst of 2009 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Proshchay (Farewell)
Arranged by Eugene Raskin & Michael Nazaretz
Performed and Licensed courtesy of The Samovar Russian Folk Music Ensemble

User Reviews

Suffered from Insufficient Character Development & Over-Reliance on Several Slasher Scenes.

..........................................................from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA....and ORLANDO, FL

Here's a sure bet: Out of millions of IMDb NF users, only a handful have ever been to Antarctica! A hostile environment provides a great backdrop for an Action/Crime/Drama/Thriller(IMDb genres) such as WHITEOUT. And Antarctica is just about as hostile as it gets! The film does get off to a really GREAT start. While in the theater, my enjoyment was genuine during 80 to 90% of the movie...Just after viewing, 7.5* was my rating...

But after a few hours of cerebral ricocheting, I realized that perhaps I'd allowed my emotions a little too much free reign, permitting myself to be a partial victim of WHITEOUT's cinematic snow job!...YES.. "I was Snow-Blinded by the light!" Therefore, my revised rating is 6*!

I'll explain: WHITEOUT does have a few top-notch scenes, where director Dominic Sena (Swordfish/GONE in 60 Seconds) really manages to work the "Hostile Environment" angle I mentioned at the beginning to its fullest! However, this very unique initial strength proves eventually to be a tremendous constraint on the overall film. During the first half of WHITEOUT there are several scenes where the safe haven home-base compound is left behind and helicopter trips are taken as part of an ongoing murder investigation. But the all-white outdoors soon gets a little drab and painfully bright on the eyes.

During most of the last half of the film, weather conditions force everyone to pretty much stay inside the compound, which also provides rather austere viewer surroundings. This movie suffered from insufficient character development and over-reliance on several action-thriller-slasher scenes, which, although exciting and well-executed, were not enough to sustain WHITEOUT at a solid 8* for its duration! In any case,

6*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English or Español, are most welcome!