For his English-language feature debut, French-Canadian director Maxime Giroux showcases a chilling grit and a determined Maika Monroe performance for a personal crime-thriller that has its moments but doesn’t totally come together.
In Cold Light starts strong, as it introduces Ava (Monroe), the leader of a growing drug empire who’s in search of her next high, but finds a grim downfall instead. Right from her first scene, it’s clear that drugs have consumed Ava’s life as both an addict and a dealer—which is why it’s sadly fitting that she’s met with a rough police raid. The opening raid sequence showcases some strengths of Giroux’s direction. With swift camera movement and good use of the tight environment, he flawlessly creates palpable anxiety and chaos that’s further elevated by Ava’s desperation to flee. She truly goes all out to make her escape—even getting bloody in the process—and Monroe displays all the pain and fear of being caught on Ava’s face the entire time. It’s a riveting scene that gets your blood pumping and pulls you into a dingy world full of harsh consequences. Unfortunately, what follows is too much of a downshift in the pacing.
Once we see Ava get released from prison and attempt to rejoin her old life, the film slows things down to soak in all the tension and emotion. Now, there are some good story threads that develop. Ava and her father (Troy Kotsur) have a severely strained dynamic over past transgressions that both actors elevate immensely. They perfectly tap into their characters’ frustrations to have these intense interactions full of gut-punching sentiment. It’s easily one of the meatiest elements of the entire film and there are also some interesting aspects surrounding Ava’s troubled return. At times, you feel her being pulled in two directions as she struggles to figure out how she should re-establish herself. Despite interests to start fresh, Ava can’t resist the urge to reenter her drug operations and regain the power she lost. It makes you wonder whether Ava simply needs to break her old addictive habits or if she’s unable to escape the darker parts of herself, and it builds a compelling arc that’s tested throughout.
Even with these intriguing storylines, though, the pacing takes such a hit that you’re left almost bored with it all. It’s easy to become fairly detached from what’s happening and the sudden slowdown nearly thwarts the thematic seeds being planted. It’s clear that the film is trying to build something complex and compelling for Ava’s arc, but there’s a lack of engaging storytelling to keep people on the hook. Honestly, things become so strung out that you’re begging for the thrills of the opening to return. Thankfully, they eventually do, when Ava is unexpectedly forced to run for her life after a wild twist. Seriously, there’s a shift into the second act that’s so vicious and out of nowhere that your jaw crashes to the floor. It’s stunning and Giroux utilizes the shock and momentum of the moment to craft slick chase scenes.
There’s a scene using infrared imagery that embodies the heart-pounding terror Ava feels as she evades her corrupt pursuers. Giroux’s direction excels even more as he gets a bigger environment and richer conflicts to play around with. Basically, any time that Ava finds herself on the run or in tense gun fights, you’re locked into everything happening on-screen and drifting closer to the edge of your seat—which is exactly where you want to be. The film is also at its best when Ava starts to make moves that shift the power in this conflict. Although her mistakes got her to this point and caused many horrific ripples to occur, you can’t help but love her craftiness in getting out of a bad spot. She fully owns all the coldness within her to make her aggressors pay, and Monroe brings a daunting presence that’s captivating to see unleashed.
However, just because the thrills and pacing get back to where they should be, that doesn’t mean the story follows suit. Although there are some strong points, the thematic threads surrounding Ava never reach their full potential. There are some emotionally-driven moments she faces with the effects of her drug operation blowing up in her face and some wrenching confrontations with her father. But, these moments don’t have the build-up they need to make them more satisfying. Instead, they often follow a lot of painfully uninteresting scenes of Ava slowly moving to the next story beat and it causes the pacing to continually drag. It makes the film never fully capable of going totally “white knuckle” with its thrills, as there’s too much downtime to maintain its energy. Add in some unnecessary inclusions (like a random and pointless flashforward) and an undercooked villain character who causes the film to overstay its welcome, and you have a fumbled narrative that gets in the way of Ava’s possibly gutting conclusions. Even Ava’s desire to know who betrayed her is super underwhelming, and the final moments leave little to no impact.
In Cold Light is a very solid showing for Monroe’s natural intensity, Kotsur’s ability, and Giroux’s crime-thriller vision, but nothing more. Its story doesn’t have the depth it needs to leave a lasting impact, nor does it have balanced pacing to keep viewers consistently hooked.
