Whiteout

Murder mysteries set in environments that are bleak and claustrophobic are a dime a dozen. Setting one is Antarctica is something unique and the filmmakers get full use out of the locations. You FEEL the cold and the isolation that for me would make it an ideal place to live. They don't gloss over the danger of being in a place where the weather can kill you sooner and more easily than any murderer. I have lived in places where losing your glove meant you lost your fingers (never happened to me but I have seen the results) and a hole in your ski pants leaves a ring of numbness in your leg (that I still feel to this day). Kate Beckinsale and Tom Skerritt are a U.S. Marshall and the Weather Station Doctor who are caught up on a mystery and series of murders involving Russian secrets from 50 years ago. I liked the way this movie just presents you with suspects and gives you just enough wrong with each one of them so that the identity of the killer or killers is not clear right away. Every character gives a look that makes you think they are holding something back and since Kate is in every scene you have only her interactions with the other actors to go on. She has a past that makes her distrustful of everything and everyone. These murders bring back some bad memories for her. I never read the graphic novel that this is based on but author Greg Rucka is a great writer of crime fiction. His Batman work is great superhero noir. This movie was good enough to keep me focused and interested for the 93 minutes running time. The scenes during the whiteout itself are particularly riveting when the characters can't see more than six inches in front of their faces. You know me and bad weather. I love it and could watch it all day long. Add to that setting a mystery to ponder and I am there for the duration. I may be dense but I didn't figure things out until the last ten minutes or so and that is reason enough to recommend this movie. Then again I recommend most everything so what do I know?