The Frozen Ground (2013)

The Frozen Ground (2013)                           2.5/5

Directed by Scott Walker

Nicolas Cage, John Cusack

In this “based on a true story” crime thriller, Alaska State Trooper Jack Halcombe (Nicolas Cage) is on the hunt to stop Robert Hansen (John Cusack), a suspected serial killer. Halcombe works together with Cindy Paulson (Vanessa Hudgens), a girl who managed to escape Hansen, trying to build a strong enough case to bring the man to justice.

The plot is a standard crime procedural, offering little in the way of unique twists or innovation. It seems Walker believed that by basing the film on a true story it would ground the film in reality, thereby making it unique and original, but instead the film is entirely plot-driven, playing as the retelling of a series of events rather than as a group of characters interacting.  That said, the film does a good job of keeping a thrilling pace, moving along intensely even if there is nothing happening that has not already been seen.

Thematically, the film primarily deals with family and death, particularly when Jack and Cindy sit together and discuss their troubled pasts. Unfortunately, the film is far too focused on the format of a standard crime procedural to really delve deep into either subject. As focused as the film is on its plot, it leaves little time to develop a deeper meaning, and any message to be found has already been delivered time and again by other films similar to this one.

Visually, the film opens with a picturesque aerial shot of the Alaskan wilderness, but proceeds to fall into issues of poor blocking and camera movement; As Halcombe speaks to various other officers, often while walking down some hallway or another, the camera movement can be intrusive, as objects obscure the view of the characters seemingly by accident. Other times, turning a corner results in inexplicable quick cuts between several different angles when it would have been much smoother to place the next shot around the corner and cut between the two parts of the hallway. The film recovers somewhere in the second act, however, abandoning the excessive hallways, and manages to offer interesting use of a Point Of View shot as well as a beautifully serene break in the action as Cindy finds a moose wandering through an alley in town.

The performances in the film are impressive, in spite of the fact that the dialogue is very cliché. Cage and Cusack play well as hero and villain, playing their roles exceedingly well, if only because these are roles that have been done by these same actors before. Hudgens lends perhaps the greatest emotional depth to any character in the film, playing the troubled young woman who has endured many hardships in her life on the street. The casting for this film was exceptional, from Cage and Cusack to Hudgens, to minor characters such as Dean Norris, who plays a Police Sergeant rather similar to his character Hank Schrader on the hit television series Breaking Bad. Other notables include Kevin Dunn (Sam Witwicky’s father in the Transformers films by Michael Bay) and rapper 50 Cent, who believably plays a pimp.

Overall, the film suffers a variety of issues, owing mainly to its plot-driven and unoriginal narrative. However, the film is still watchable, and may be the right choice for anyone addicted to crime-procedurals who has exhausted the library of more highly recommended titles.