Mysteries, certainly in the Hollywood style, bend plausibility to capture our attention and brandish glamour to seduce our imagination. Aaron Katz’s new film “Cold Weather’ suggests that those temptations may not really be necessary for a highly engrossing film. Although his first two features, “Dance Party, USA” and “Quiet City,” were pigeonholed with the glories and pitfalls of mumblecore, Katz has broken free of the trappings with one of the most charming and natural suspense dramas to grace screens in some time. Taking the formula of structural simplicity alongside astute emotional honesty, “Cold Weather” adds the persuasive element of genre, creating a very sweet spot between adrenal movie-going pleasure and captivating personal engagement. Modest yet completely surprising in so many subtle ways, “Cold Weather” is something to celebrate: armed with a down-to-earth cast, a sparkling yet unobtrusive original score, a deft script, and a poetic visual ambiance, it is bound to be one of the best American films of the year.

After an unsuccessful period studying forensic science in college, Doug (Cris Lankenau) moves back home to Portland, Oregon to find an unassuming job in an ice factory and share an apartment with his sister Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn). Doug is quick to make friends with Carlos, with whom he works at the ice factory, and the two share their quirks: Doug is a rabid fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Carlos is a weekend DJ and a convention-going 'Star Trek' geek. When Doug’s ex-girlfriend Rachel, in town on business, suddenly disappears from her hotel room, Doug, Gail and Carlos obsessively follow the trail of codes and clues left behind. The homespun investigation teeters from a tense sense of urgency to an enthralling self-indulgent adventure. Cracking codes and following strangers, Doug and Gail surprisingly find themselves involved in a mystery that only exists in books and movies. But wait—this is a movie. Major details like this get lost in the specificity of the minor details of our earthbound characters, right up to the full-tilt ending that “Cold Weather” pulls out of its discreet hat of tricks.

From an opening shot of a rain-drenched windowpane that only slightly obscures the grey sky, we know that “Cold Weather” is far gentler than the title implies. The setting has as much to do with the city of Portland as it does the climate and the natural surroundings that define it. Katz’s affection for the area where he grew up blankets the production with tenderness for the cloudy ambiance as well as the parka-clad people who populate it. The characters of Doug and Gail are drawn with a very fine line that studies not only the nuances of their characters themselves, but also the undeniable nuances of their brother and sister relationship. Their closeness exists not because they know everything about each other, but because they spent years exploring and defining the social boundaries between each other. As adults, they still function under the notion that one might make fun of the other—more than once interjecting, “Don’t make fun of me, but…” into the conversation—but also with a fearless camaraderie that is infectious and funny.

Doug, fully embracing his desire to be Sherlock Holmes, is energized into helping his ex out of a sticky situation. Gail offers obligatory help, but when the situation escalates into a very real whodunit, she animates into a perfect Dr. Watson. Hot on the tail of the man responsible for Rachel’s predicament, Doug and Gail make a perfect team imbued with a refreshing lack of hyperbole. As the two contemplate their final heist and getaway, they have to decide who will wait outside in the car and who will make the mad dash for a briefcase full of money. Doug, wanting to protect his sister from danger, volunteers for nabbing the briefcase. As if sliding right back into high school, Gail hilariously responds, “No way, Doug. I ran track!” As if that matters. As they pull off the impossible with a step-by-step logic of ‘What would you do in this situation?,’ their realistic reactions to their own audacity almost makes us feel complicit in helping them.

Katz has honed his craft with a crew that he likens to a collaborative effort. Working with many of the same people he worked with on “Quiet City” and “Dance Party, USA,” Katz, along with fellow writers Brendan McFadden and Ben Stambler, cinematographer Andrew Reed and music composer Keegan DeWitt, hit a home run as a team effort. Reed’s gorgeous cinematography is supplemented by the use of the Red One camera, which is especially striking in the outdoor scenes. But it is DeWitt’s fantastic music score that feigns an understated idiosyncrasy, mimicking the film’s oddly mundane intrigue. All said components add up to an independent feature bursting at the seams. Stocked with real people and real jobs, “Cold Weather” perfectly pitches the dichotomy between the ordinary and the unexpected. Movie magic never felt so real and the grey light of the Pacific Northwest never felt so warm.

Review by:
Kathie Smith