Vincent Grashaw’s debut feature (2013) harks back to Lindsay Anderson’s If . . . and Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket, though if you’re a fan of either you might find this fairly thin. A juvenile delinquent gets sent to a reformatory in the wilderness that’s run like a military boot camp by a retired army colonel, and the more sadistic aspects of the disciplinary regimen, enforced by former inmates according to a rigid chain of command, inspire violent resentment among the offenders. Grashaw effectively charts the unhealthy power dynamics, though he seems still to be finding his way at conceiving characters, directing actors, and establishing tone.
Coldwater
1 hour 41 min • 2013
