A White, White Day  ★★½

CRITICS have been raving for months now about the Icelandic drama A White, White Day.

I wish I could join them, particularly having recently visited that stunning country, but that’s not the case.

I didn’t dislike the film; it’s certainly made with skill and mostly holds the attention, but ultimately it left me cold and indifferent.

Ingvar Sigurdsson has been praised for his performance as a man consumed by grief over his wife’s death to a point that threatens to destroy the rest of his family and his personal reputation.

Yes, the performance is good, but it also suffers from the constricts imposed by director and writer Hlynur Pálmason’s sparse screenplay which seems more in service of creating atmosphere rather than theme, intent on leaving any hard lifting in terms of character motivation and understanding to the audience.

That’s fine if what happens on-screen is constantly interesting and engaging, but A White, White Day frankly too often sits there spinning its wheels without getting far.

The film begins as it should have continued…with unconventionally presented events creating suspense and intrigue as a car travelling in heavy snow suddenly topples off a cliff.  Was it an accident or a deliberate act by the local police chief Ingvar’s wife?

Ingvar is heartbroken and takes time off, putting his energy into renovating an old property and spending as much time as possible with his grand-daughter.

Unfortunately the audience learns very little about the man, either from these events or his regular therapy sessions.

Yet we are forced to spend minutes watching an exterior of his property through a range of seasons and weather, presumably to demonstrate the passage of time and potential impact on his state of mind but actually coming across as being a waste of time and somewhat pretentious.

Anyway, the story moves slowly forward when Ingvar makes a discovery while looking through his wife’s belongings that sets him on a path of potential destruction.

Many critics have seen power in the ensuing events but it’s generally an even slower burn version of the drama and off-beat approach contained in any number of Nordic thrillers.