"There are bodies scattered on the hillside."
In just a few small steps Jeremy Saulnier has cemented
himself as one of the most promising filmmakers currently at prominence. His
two masterful thrillers ‘Blue Ruin’ and ‘Green Room’ each displayed such a
ferocious command of craft that they could only have come from a director with
an intuitive talent for suspense and tension. They were each tightly wound and electrifying
pieces of cinema, however his latest film ‘Hold the Dark’ is instantly notable
as being distinctly more ambitious.
Retired naturalist Russell Core (Jeffrey Wright) journeys to
the edge of civilization in northern Alaska at the pleading of Medora Slone
(RILEY KEOUGH), a young mother whose son was killed by a pack of wolves. As
Core attempts to help Medora track down the wolves who took her son, a strange
and dangerous relationship develops between the two lonely souls.
There is always a danger to a filmmaker who wants to make a
jump in the ambition and scale of their stories. Obviously I am not for a
second suggesting that a talented director should be discouraged from
broadening their scope (some of the best films in history have come from
precisely that), but it is worth noting the risks involved. As disappointing as
it is given the strength of Saulnier’s previous efforts, ‘Hold the Dark’ is
emblematic of those problems and suffers from having too far a reach with not
enough substance to justify it.
On its most basic and fundamental level ‘Hold the Dark’ is
clearly an increase in size from the likes of ‘Green Room’ and ‘Blue Ruin’.
Where the two prior films both fell within a similar 90-95 minute runtime, ‘Hold
the Dark’ ploughs on to 125 minutes, a length that it fails to fill satisfyingly.
The plot meanders to a point where key narrative arcs feel confused and
muddled, whilst the overall structure of the film seems awkwardly paced. ‘Hold
the Dark’ is a movie that feels much longer than its runtime while
simultaneously being strangely empty and devoid of substance.
Perhaps that feeling arises from how little of the narrative
within ‘Hold the Dark’ unfolds in unison. Rather than deliver a series of plot
threads and narrative arcs that flow into one another and unfold at a
simultaneous pace, the script is constantly at odds with itself in regards to
where to devote its attention. When it has to advance one theme or story beat,
everything else is halted to accommodate it, which creates this sense of
stalling that drags on the film not only in terms of pacing but also simple
cohesion. When you boil the core elements of ‘Hold the Dark’ down it becomes
apparent how needlessly convoluted the film is as a viewing experience. Too
much muddled storytelling means Saulnier’s latest film is about as far away
from a tightly wound thriller as one can get. It’s difficult to be absorbed in
the momentary suspense when part of you is still wrapping your head around the
broader story beats which refuse to add up.
However Saulnier is too talented to produce an outright
disaster, which ‘Hold the Dark’ is most certainly not. Though its own ambition
may be its downfall, it is hard not to admire the scale from which Saulnier
aims to deliver a story which is somewhat compelling when the narrative beats
fall into synch. Though its philosophical undertones also lack enough
development to feel impactful, few filmmakers are better at eliciting an instinctive
gut reaction from a viewer as Saulnier. The brutality on display here is deeply
felt, as are the emotionally draining performances from a hugely talented cast.
Having worked as a director of photography years before
helming his own films, Saulnier still possesses a keen eye for evocative
visuals and dramatic angles as well. The cold and hostile Alaskan environment
is a truly chilling setting for a thriller of this nature and helps to create a
highly atmospheric work. It’s easy to think of the environment as a fully
formed character in of itself. In fact when you think of ‘Hold the Dark’ as strictly
a mood piece the film almost works.
However that reading soon falls apart when the film’s story
beats demand the characters be seen as complex presences, which the script
never quite establishes adequately. Once again the flaws of the movie rests on
its failure to justify its own scope and scale. If this were a shortened
thriller the lack of character depth could be forgiven, but in a two hour tour
of bleakness a continuous mood and pretty visuals are not enough to sustain a
compelling narrative for that amount of time. Saulnier can convey dread and
despair with brilliant impact, but for a feature of this ambition on this occasion
he lacks the emotional depth and nuance to reach a more meaningful conclusion.
Despite some strong elements, ‘Hold the Dark’ is too cold
and distant to work as a compelling thriller in its own right.
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