Whitewash (2013)

Whitewash is a movie of pure simplicity. It isn't hard to see a premise like the one presented in this film being over embellished or overly fantastic. Luckily for me there still is some subtly left in the world of movies and can sneak up on you in ways you weren't expecting. In a lot of ways this was one of the most surprising movie experiences I've had in a while (I picked it randomly based almost solely on the fact that that I enjoy the actor Thomas Haden Church). Whitewash is an incredibly simple and tense film that doesn't try to be any more profound than its story inherently is. While this film may not necessarily do anything particularly new or innovating it tells a captivating story in a minimalistic and very effective way.

I really don't want to spoil anything so I'll only discuss the bare bones basics of what Whitewash is about. On a very cold, Canadian winter night a man named Bruce is recklessly driving a snow plow down the road with bottle of liquor at his feet. All of a sudden he hits a man who was walking in the middle of road and panics when he realizes the man is dead. He hides the bodily hastily and proceeds to drive his plow as deep into the woods as possible where he gets it stuck. The rest of this film is this man Bruce trying to survive in the freezing woods without really knowing where he is or how much the outside world knows about what happens. In the end Whitewash can be enjoyed as a very simple dramatic thriller but I think this movie succeeds just as much at giving the viewer the sense of paranoia and helplessness that the lead character is feeling.

I really want to stress how simple this film really is. While there are some flashbacks (which are short) in this movie mainly near the end it is primarily just a movie showing this man's somewhat simple and limited survival skills while he slowly draws deeper into his own psyche. As times goes on in this movie we see Bruce start to really soak in what he has done and what it may mean for him. We don't get a whole lot of back story on Bruce but I think Thomas Hayden Church's performance is excellent enough to bring the character fully to life. I was deeply satisfied with pretty much everything in the movie from beginning to end and the distinctly ironic and slyly funny ending of the movie was the perfect way to end a movie I was already having a good time watching.

For the most part I had a really good time watching this movie. I hope that doesn't suggest that it's a super upbeat or fun movie in general. Nope, Whitewash is actually quite dark and intense most of the time. The survival aspects give a lot of scenes a great sense of suspense and how the movie looks and feels is a great compliment to that. Whitewash's form is just as simple as its story. The movie doesn't have much music but what music there is tends to be quiet and very droney. There also isn't a ton of dialogue which really speaks for how good Church's performance is since I never found the film to be boring. The snow-covered, windy wooden terrain really do feel extremely cold and isolated. It's a simple but effective presentation that perfectly compliments the story.

Still, Whitewash isn't a perfect movie and I have a feeling it will bore a lot of people. It's so simple that even the 90 minute run-time may feel a bit long for some people. Perhaps some of the scenes could have been shorted here and there because when a movie is this basic I think it tests the patience of audiences who expect somewhat more dramatic occurrences in a film. Also I don't think this movie was necessarily shocking at any point. I sort of saw where this was going from the beginning and I was sort of right in what I was expecting. However I don't think that takes away from how enjoyable this movie is. I was riveted for the bulk of the movie and felt the ups and downs the man character as much as I think I could by simply watching a movie. Whitewash gets it right and manages to be a very good movie as a result.

Whitewash was a great gamble to take. I wasn't expecting much out of this movie when I passed it on Netflix and I was very surprised by it. It is a very well acted and well put together dramatic movie with strong survival elements and a good sense of tension throughout. The film's style made me sufficiently “cold” and Church's subtle performance is really what carries the movie to the end as we see his character descending further into his own paranoia. Whitewash doesn't re-write the book on these type of movies but it manages to be a surprisingly formidable picture with more than enough going on for me to recommend it to friends.

8/10