Dim ‘Light’ likely to leave you in the cold

         Befitting its bland, generic title, “In Cold Light” is a subpar Alberta-set action picture that fires blanks despite the presence of two Oscar winners. Why Helen Hunt and “CODA’s” Troy Kotsur got mixed up in this discombobulated mess remains a mystery. One that I’m sure is far more interesting than the riddle scream-queen Maika Monroe is attempting to solve as her ex-con, Ava, takes it on the lam after being framed for the murder of her twin brother.

      What ensues is your standard cat-and-mouse fare, as Ava strives to remain one or two steps ahead of Allan Hawco’s murderous detective, bearing the ridiculous moniker of Bob Whyte. He, indeed, is for the birds, doing the bidding of an enigmatic mob boss whose identity isn’t revealed until late in what amounts to an over-stylized chase picture. 

      It begins with Ava caught in the middle of a police raid on an upscale suburban crack house, where users get high while munching toast and/or playing ping-pong and video games. Well, this is Canada, people. They’re nice! Anyhoo, Ava ain’t going up the Saskatchewan on no drug rap, so she does what any one of us would do: she leaps through a second-story window, landing on a cement patio covered in shattered glass, sustaining barely a scratch. Then, she bolts, but doesn’t get far, in what proves to be a microcosm for what Quebec-based director Maxime Giroux will spend the next 90 minutes repeating over and over.

      Jump two years ahead and Ava is being paroled, but her faded rodeo-star father, Will (Kotsur), wants nothing to do with her. Luckily, her twin, Tom (Jesse Irving), is in a more welcoming mood, setting Sis up with a dingy apartment and a gig doing odd jobs around the annual Ponoka Stampede. Natch, the event will offer Will one last chance to revive his broken bronc-riding career. Yes, there is no end to the cliched plot twists offered by writer Patrick Whistler, the most pivotal being Tom and Ava being ambushed by Bob Whyte and one of his goons.

     Tom gets blasted, but Ava miraculously escapes after taking a glancing slug to her left hand. And the chase is on, one that requires Monroe to do copious amounts of sprinting, up and down stairs, hallways, alleys and into a grocery store – toting a baby whose nappy needs changing! And every time, she manages to wriggle away from Bob Whyte and his flock of bird brains.

      Neither Giroux nor Whistler thinks to instill a lick of character development. The folks we meet, at least those who survive, are pretty much the same at the end as they were at the beginning. Minus a semblance of a story to tell, Giroux and Whistler opt to fill the screen with non-stop action in which Monroe excretes gallons of sweat and blood, stopping only to change said diaper or exchange emotive ASL with Kotsur.

     Shot on location by Sara Mishara, “In Cold Light” features many scenic vistas of Alberta, but it’s unclear whether the urban landscapes are in Edmonton or Calgary. It could be either, since the Ponoka Stampede is located directly between them. Still, the movie looks great, as does Monroe, even when covered in mud, blood and some unfortunate wardrobe choices. And man, can she dash, giving “Run Lola Run’s” Franka Potente, well, a run for her money. Ah, if only we knew why and for what Bob Whyte wants Tom and Ava wiped from this earth. Perhaps I missed it amid all the senseless action.

     Whatever the reason, none of it is the least bit plausible, particularly the nonsensical ending, enabling Ava and Will to end their estrangement. It caps what proves to be an utter waste of Kotsur’s talents. It’s a role any actor, hearing or deaf, could portray in his sleep. But he’s not nearly as disposable as Hunt, horribly miscast as a menacing mafioso. Heck, she looks more like someone’s sweet grandmother than a sinister criminal.

    See it if you must. But be advised to do it fast, because “In Cold Light,” like Ava’s ill-fated brother, won’t be around long.

Movie review

In Cold Light

Rated: R for language, violence, bloody images and some drug material

Cast: Maika Monroe, Troy Kotsur, Helen Hunt, Allan Hawco and Jesse Irving

Director: Maxime Giroux

Writer: Patrick Whistler

Runtime: 95 minutes

Where: In theaters Jan. 23

Grade: C-