Whiteout

Directed by: Dominic Sena

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Columbus Short

Synopsis:

At the US Base Camp in Antarctica, US Marshall Carrie Stetko flies out into the icy wilderness where a body has been discovered. Returning to base, she learns that the deceased was murdered and part of a three-man geology team looking for meteorite fragments. When she reaches the team’s camp she finds another member dead and herself being attacked by a masked assailant. The discovery of the 50-year old wreck of a Russian transport plane deepens the mystery, as does the appearance of UN Special Agent Robert Pryce. With the Antarctic Winter heading their way fast, Stetko only has two days to find the killer and discover what was on the Russian plane that people are willing to kill for...



Review:

I’m a big fan of murder mysteries so I have to say the concept of Whiteout appealed to me straight away. Whilst I found the movie entertaining, at times I did feel it was aiming for the lowest possible denominator. The film starts with an exciting prologue as we learn the fate of the Russian plane and how it ended up buried deep in the ice. However this is followed by a setting shot of Antarctica, with a caption along the lines of “Antarctica: The coldest, most inhospitable continent on the planet.” Really? Is there anyone watching this movie that didn’t already know that? Besides, there is a much better scene later on as Dr John Fury (Skerritt) gives a practical demonstration to the Newbies the perils of being caught outside without a coat on.

Another moment of dumbing down occurs with the introduction of Stetko. We follow her from behind as she walks into the base, walking down corridors etc, until she comes to her room. Then we linger as she strips off and takes a shower, while we sit just outside the cubicle ogling her thought the steam. It’s all very tastefully done, but so what? It adds nothing to the story, or to Stetko’s character development – all it really shows is the many layers of clothes she’s wearing – again, better handled by Dr Fury.

Things improve a lot once the mystery is underway. We are introduced to Delfy (Short), a new pilot who’s the one who thinks he saw a body. Turns out he was right, although what happened to that body isn’t as much of a mystery as the film thinks it is. Stetko is an interesting character with a back story that is fed in stages. She is good at visualising the crime-scene in a kind of CSI fashion. Kate Beckinsale manages to project a mix of feistiness and fragility and has an inherent lack of trust of just about everyone. The other characters aren’t so well developed. We learn that Delfy and Pryce both served in Iraq but that’s about it. Tom Skerritt manages to give his character a lot of well-worn warmth though.

Whiteout does a good job of hiding who the killer is even though it could only be one of about 5 people. Each person gets the opportunity to look a little shifty, or be absent at a particularly inconvenient time, keeping the audience guessing until the reveal.

The desolate, isolated environment is used to good effect, especially when Stetko ventures out to discover what the geologists had found – nothing but white, all the way to the horizon. Unfortunately the CGI effects of the storm hitting the region aren’t particularly well done and look...like CGI.

Verdict:

Despite a number of flaws Whiteout manages to be an entertaining thriller. I just wish it managed to take its audience a bit more seriously.

6 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

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