The Cold Lands (film)

Plot

After 11-year-old Atticus Garfield's (Silas Yelich) mother Nichole (Lili Taylor) dies suddenly, Atticus runs away from home to live in the Catskills by himself, surviving on whatever he can find. While dealing with his mother's death and living alone in the wilderness, Atticus encounters a hippie named Carter (Peter Scanavino), who sells necklaces at festivals and lives in his car. The two become dependent on each other, though neither is comfortable with the alliance.

Cast

Reception

Reviews of The Cold Lands have been somewhat mixed; as of August 2014, the film has a 64% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.

The A.V. Club reviewer Todd VanDerWerff gave The Cold Lands a B- rating, stating, "There are the bones of the stereotypical “loser has his life turned around by a kid” story here, but Gilroy takes all of this to a more realistic, more interesting place, and he manages to find an ending for the story that offers a touch of optimism but doesn’t feel like a cheat."

Accolades

Soundtrack

Michael Stipe has worked with Director/Screenwriter Tom Gilroy on a variety of projects for decades. Stipe agreed to create the soundtrack for The Cold Lands, which was his first work since R.E.M. disbanded in 2011. However, the final original score heard in the film was composed by Hahn Rowe, known for his work with the band Hugo Largo. The song heard in the opening and closing credits is "Rhymes of an Hour" by Mazzy Star.