Whitewash

  After accidentally killing a man with his snow plow, unemployed widower Bruce drives it deep into the woods where he becomes stranded. With the authorities looking for him and the man he hit, Bruce must battle the freezing cold and his own sense of guilt. Is there redemption in the forest, or just ice and snow?
  This is one of those artsy fartsy type of movies that a large percentage of moviegoers will hate, but I usually love. Smaller stories are more interesting to me, they feel less like movies and more like glimpses into a person’s everyday life. As someone who just gave X-Men: Days of Future Past a favorable review, I can safely say that I love stupid, big budget schlock as much as the next guy, but it is movies like this that increasingly interest me as I get older.
  The highlight of this film is definitely Thomas Haden Church’s performance as Bruce. This is Church’s show, and he gives a compelling performance as a guy in some pretty bizarre and miserable circumstances. Bruce is alone for most of the movie, so we get to see him struggle to survive the elements while battling his own demons. We observe Bruce rehearse the lies he will tell the police if he is caught, as well as witness instances of him lashing out at his surroundings. This movie probably isn’t as good as Church’s performance in Sideways, but it sure as hell beats what he did in six seasons of Wings and that awful, third Spider-Man movie.
  As the film continues, we learn that Bruce and the man he killed were connected, a relationship that definitely seems to haunt Bruce. The movie also subtly suggests that the main character is an alcoholic who misses his wife, who we learn died of cancer some time ago.
  One thing I must mention is that this is one of those movies that just stops, something I don’t mind at all but I know can bother a lot of people. If you hate it when movies don’t wrap up everything in a neat little package, then look elsewhere.
  Like I said before, this is a small story, more of a character study then your usual action movie nonsense. If watching a movie about an internally conflicted snow plow driver sounds appealing to you, then check this out. Anyone who likes Thomas Haden Church and wants to see him conduct odd conversations with himself while freezing his ass off is in for a treat. Recommended.