Today, we will look at “Cold in July,” a modest neo-noir independent movie directed by Jim Mickle, based on a book by the same name authored by Joe R. Lansdale. Michael C. Hall of “Dexter” fame, Sam Shepard, and Don Johnson play the film’s lead characters.

The plot of “Cold in July” is set in the Texas of the ’80s, a time when pay phone booths and VHS video players were in use, and movies were rented from brick-and-mortar video stores. Despite having many faults, the plot of the movie is unique and packs a few unexpected turns.

Richard Dane (Hall), a small business owner, lives in a Texas town with his wife Ann (Vinessa Shaw) and his young son, Jordan. The Danes are a Bible-believing family with traditional values, where children are not allowed to interrupt when parents speak, and swearing or public outbursts are not the norm.

Their idyllic life is disturbed when Ann wakes up one night, startled by a noise. Upon investigation, Richard finds an intruder inside their home and shoots the man dead.

After a friendly interrogation, the investigating police officer sends Richard home. This is, in fact, a realistic scenario in Texas, a state where the “Stand Your Ground” law is in effect. The investigating officer also tells Richard that the intruder has been identified as Freddy Russell, a known criminal.

Richard is unable to come to terms with the fact that he took a life and goes to the funeral of the deceased intruder. At the funeral, Freddy’s father Ben, himself a former criminal on parole, confronts Richard and makes threats of the “You have a beautiful family” kind.

When Richard seeks protection from the police, he is first refused service. Soon, however, the Danes come home to find that their house has had another break-in. This time, the police provide them with necessary protection. The police even have a full-time “special forces” guy to stay with the family.

On one occasion, despite the police protection, the Danes have a third break-in. The assailant knocks down the special forces man, locks himself in little Jordan’s room with Jordan in it. When the police try to break open Jordan’s room, the assailant escapes through a window of the room, leaving Jordan unhurt.

The police claim that there was no intruder who came from the outside, but it was Ben who attacked the officer and escaped from Jordan’s window. According to them, Ben has been hiding in the apartment’s crawl space. Richard later receives news from the police that Ben was apprehended in Mexico.

Richard returns to the police station to close the case, and while looking at a bunch of posters of criminals placed on a table, finds one indicating that the person in it is Freddy Russell. There is only one problem. The person pictured in the poster is not the person whom Richard shot at his dwelling.

Then, by what can only be described as the “sheer magic of movies,” Richard is at the exact place and exact time to witness Ben being forced into a police car and then driven away. As Richard pursues the car, he watches it stop near a railway track. The men haul Ben onto the track after splashing him with alcohol. Richard heroically rushes to the track, pulls Ben away, and saves him from impending death.

At this point, the plot takes a very different turn. Richard realizes that there is a massive police conspiracy to hide the real truth. Ben and Richard join forces after Richard proves to Ben that Freddy Russell, Ben’s son, was not the one he shot dead at his apartment. The two join forces to unravel the conspiracy and the whereabouts of Ben’s son.

While Richard is at work, the police officer who investigated the break-in shows up. As the two converse, a “cool dude” wearing red shoes and a “Don Johnson” swagger makes his appearance. He carefully hands Richard a photo, ensuring that the officer does not see the note on the photo. The note asks Richard to meet him, the stranger, outside. The stranger then cracks a cunning smile.

This stranger is private investigator Jim Bob Luke (Donn Johnson), a close associate of Ben. I am not sure why he had to appear by himself at Richard’s place of work, specifically to meet the latter who has no part in Freddy Russell’s disappearance. In other words, the whole scene is a cheap shot to introducing Don Johnson’s character.

I will admit that Don Johnson’s addition did add some liveliness to the film, unlike the other two morose lead characters, Richard and Ben.

Jim soon finds out all details related to Freddy’s disappearance and asks Ben to come to Houston, where he makes his home and coincidentally, is also the place where the secrets behind Freddy’s disappearance lie. Richard volunteers to join the duo “to find out who he killed.”

Ten minutes further into the movie, the trio get their answers and Richard decides that his part is done and returns home. Ten more minutes later, Richard has a change of heart and returns to Houston, where Jim and Ben have not yet made any move, probably knowing that Richard will join them. That’s 20 minutes of my life that I will not get back.

At this stage, the plot takes an unpredictable totally different direction, which certainly enhances the movie. When the trio dig further into the search for Freddy Russell, some horrific secrets are revealed that are disturbing to the trio, and particularly for Ben.

The climax of the movie has a Texas-style shootout

References:

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.9.htm#C