Edge of Winter

Not much new here, but there are solid performances and you have to admire cast and crew for shooting amid some challenging surroundings in snowy Sudbury.

This film will be remembered (if at all) as one of the things Holland did before he was Spider-Man.

Suicide Squad survivor Joel Kinnaman is aces in this otherwise iffy survival thriller.

Director Rob Connolly (who co-wrote the script with Kyle Mann) has an understated but sharply honed visual sense that keeps the drama taut and engaging throughout.

Competent but slight ...

"Edge of Winter" suffices as a diverting breath of recycled cool air.

Connolly and co-writer Kyle Mann deliver exactly the kind of film one would expect from the premise, but there's nothing wrong with someone getting an easy premise right on the first crack.

Some films do a slow burn. And some burn so slowly that they risk having their fire go out completely. Edge of Winter is, alas, of the latter variety.

Kinnaman's weekend father is a return to form, a twitchy, deeply flawed character we can't help rooting for even as we fear the worst ... He reminded me of Nicholson in 'The Shining' ...

Edge of Winter is still frosty enough to cut through its sometimes inert tone and a flat soundtrack.