Cold Blood - No Way Out. No Mercy

Actually, the robbery of a casino for Addison (Eric Bana) and his sister Liza (Olivia Wilde) went exactly as planned. But then they crash their car while fleeing through snowy Michigan. A policeman, who wants to come to their aid, Addison kills without hesitation. He realizes that now it's only a matter of time before more cops show up. To make sure Liza and he make it across the border, Addison decides that from now on they'll have to make their way to Canada separately. While the ruthless gangster leaves a bloody trail in his wake, the attractive Liza is picked up by Jay (Charlie Hunnam), a former boxer who has just been released from prison. Jay, on the run from the police himself, quickly succumbs to Liza's seductive wiles, and so he offers to join her on a trip to Canada after a brief stop at his parents' house (Sissy Spacek & Kris Kristofferson). But Addison's path also leads him directly to the home of Jay's family, for whom Thanksgiving threatens to become a particularly bloody affair this year.

With his U.S. debut Cold Blood, Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters, Anatomy) delivers a more than solidly crafted thriller that scores points for atmospheric imagery, a strong Eric Bana and decent moments of suspense. Set in snowy Quebec, the film itself tells three stories: that of Addison and Liza, who have to fight their way through the Michigan wilderness on the run from the police. The story of Jay, who after his stay in prison becomes a manslaughterer due to an unfortunate accident and thus has ruined his future and once again confirms his father Chet's disappointment. And finally, there's that of young cop Hanna (Kate Mara), who suffers constant humiliation from her superior sheriff (Treat Williams), who also happens to be her father, foolishly, and wants to prove that she can do as good a job as her male colleagues in pursuing Addison.

These individual storylines don't work equally well. While the scenes where Addison makes his bloody way to Canada are extremely suspenseful, and also have a very high entertainment value thanks to Bana's wonderfully evil acting. The scenes between Jay and Liza, on the other hand, fall a bit short. Although they are also well played by heartthrob Charlie Hunnan (Sons of Anarchy) and eye candy Olivia Wilde and insofar engaging staged, because the viewer never knows exactly whether Liza is just playing with Jay or actually develops something like feelings for him. Still, these moments never even come close to the intensity inherent in Addison's escape. The story of police officer Hanna, on the other hand, remains completely pale. While Kate Mara (Brokeback Mountain) delivers a good acting performance, the bossy father figure and her quest to convince the male world of her professionalism is altogether too clichéd and lacking in surprise to be even remotely captivating.

However, even though the film loses overall entertainment value due to the uneven distribution of tension and even the ending comes across as a bit rushed, on balance Ruzowitzky has delivered a very good thriller that strives not only for bloody shootouts and duels, but also for a certain depth of character. It's a pity that some of the clichés get in the way, but it doesn't prevent the overall positive impression in the end. Therefore: for fans of exciting, slightly undercooled thriller dramas well worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp