By Scott Marks | SDUN Film Critic
Mumblecore grows up (to a certain aesthetic degree) in “Cold Weather, “Aaron Katz’s latest contribution to the film movement/pseudo genre the Portland trailblazer helped to co-found. The term “mumblecore”—coined by sound editor Eric Masunaga—refers to a group of low budget, independently produced features filmed on location with digital video cameras and under natural light from a script largely improvised by a cast of non-professional actors. It’s a stretch, but imagine, if you will, the lifestyle and philosophy put forth in Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” filmed under material circumstances similar to those the Italian neorealist’s encountered at the end of World War II. (Slackerealism?)
Until now, mumblecore’s core subject has been relationship dramadies, but Katz decides to channel literary master Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as a source of inspiration. Not only does “Cold Weather” have a stor y to tell, the success of his earlier films afforded Katz a heretofore-cost prohibitive and/ or deemed unnecessary tripod. The excessive close-ups remain, but without the palsy-cam cinematography one can actually get a clear picture of what the actors look like.
The closest Doug (Cris Lankenau) has come to his dream of being a super sleuth along the lines of Sherlock Homes was a job in forensic science. Doug is a Doyle loyalist—none of this revisionist Hollywood, Basil Rathbone nonsense for him. The authentic fictional sleuth did smoke a pipe to help the cogitative process, but it wasn’t “a ridiculous stupid enormous one” nor did he wear “that stupid hat” or spout screenwriter‘s taglines such as, “elementary, my dear Watson.” Currently between gigs, Doug moves in with his sister Gale (Trieste Kelly Dunn) and enters his Cubist period working at an ice factory.
Doug loans fellow iceman Carlos (Raúl Castillo) a collection of short stories and while both men exhibit enthusiasm over Doyle’s work, their follow-up discussion leads to nothing more than an exchange of unsubstantiated opinions (“My favorite story was the one with the snake”) and hyperbole (“Holmes is the man!). Snobbish Doug may put down “Star Trek” conventions, but his limited grasp of a so-called idol makes him a perfect candidate to don pointy ears.
When Doug’s ex-girlfriend Rachel (Robyn Rikoon) turns up missing, he pulls together a band of junior bloodhounds to assist in his exercise in deductive reasoning. It takes almost forty minutes for the mystery to kick in and what we learn about these characters prior to that isn’t of much dramatic interest. Nor is the unraveling of the “case” and the logical explanations behind it. What clicks is the use of the terminally overcast city as a backdrop and the genuine character rapport, particularly the bonding moments between brother and sister. There are more gripping suspense dramas and finely etched character studies to be found, but you’d be hard pressed to come up with a better example of mumblecore.
“Cold Weather” is currently playing exclusively at Reading Cinemas Gaslamp 15.
“Cold Weather”
Written, Directed and Edited by: Aaron Katz from a story by Katz, Brendan McFadden and Ben Stambler
Starring: Cris Lankenau, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Raúl Castillo and Robyn Rikoon
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
