Thrilling Chase but Thin Plot: A Review of Maxime Giroux's "In Cold Light"

French-Canadian filmmaker Maxime Giroux's action-thriller, "In Cold Light," impresses visually but falls short in delivering an immersive story. Starring Maika Monroe as an on-the-run anti-heroine, the film, unfortunately, fails to push beyond standard neon-lit, gritty aesthetics.

Monroe brings a silent emotional force and elegance to Ava, her character in the film. Despite this, the film does her a disservice with a poor script and one-dimensional character development. Drawing on influences like “Sicario” and “Drive,” the film does little to weave an engaging narrative.

The film begins with Ava involved in a disastrous drug deal and ends up spending two years in prison. The story picks up from her release, presenting her fraught relationship with her ex-rodeo star father, and her subsequent return to the drug world. This leads to the murder of her twin brother and Ava being wrongfully accused of the crime.

The film tries to add humanity with scenes involving Ava caring for her orphaned nephew but fails to deepen any of its characters. The result is a film that juggles fast-paced neo-noir tropes without giving the audience a reason to truly care about the characters.

The film's climactic scene involves Ava negotiating a baffling agreement with crime boss Claire, played by a woefully misused Helen Hunt. The lack of weight to the film's finale and the story's resolution only highlights the film's lack of investment in its characters.

"In Cold Light" fumbles to engage despite Monroe's powerful performance and some effective visual choices. The film struggles to deliver an original, fleshed-out narrative, leaving the audience wanting more from an otherwise moodily shot action-thriller.