Edge of Winter DVD Review

• Actors: Joel Kinnaman, Tom Holland, Percy White, Rachelle Lefevre, Shiloh Fernandez
• Director: Rob Connolly
• Producer: Kyle Mann
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Spanish, English, Japanese
• Dubbed: Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Run Time: 89 minutes

 Usually I enjoy trying to figure out what the point of a film’s narrative is, attempting to discover what the message is that the filmmaker was trying to make. This became a frustrating experience when thinking about Edge of Winter, however, because I couldn’t help but feel like there was no point beyond the viewing of the film itself. And if that is the case, it is a film which shamelessly uses the prospect of a father harming his own sons for suspense and the main source of entertainment. I want to believe that there is something more to this film, but I was unable to find anything.

In an odd mix of Falling Down and The Shining, the film sets us up for the psychological breakdown of the main character from the first scenes on. Elliot Baker (Joel Kinnaman) shows us his ill temper when he assaults his boss, losing a much needed job. Heavily in debt and in danger of being evicted, the only glimmer of hope in Elliot’s life is his visiting children. Clearly having no custody rights, Elliot’s sons, Bradley (Tom Holland) and Caleb (Percy Hynes White), have come to see their step-father as more of a parent than their biological father. Though the film is handled with the tone of a serious drama, the events laid out by co-writer/director Rob Connolly feel as though they belong in a psychological horror film.

As if the nature of their relationship weren’t precarious enough, Elliot rashly decides to take his sons for an unprepared trip into the wilderness to teach them how to shoot a gun. When an accident on the road strands them in the harsh elements of winter, he leads them further into seclusion in search of a hunting cabin. Once they have found shelter, the narrative has few places to go and they are all shown in the atrocious trailer for the film. Even if I hadn’t had the end of the film ruined by its promotional materials, I still would have been disappointed by the lack of depth in the overall experience.

Entertainment Value: 5/10

Quality of Filmmaking: 5.5/10

Historical Significance:  2/10

Special Features: 0/10