The Frozen Ground
starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusak, Vanessa Hudgens, Kevin Dunn, Radha Mitchel and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson
written and directed by Scott Walker
Rating: ♦♦♦♦♦
This is the true story of Alaskan serial killer Robert Hansen who was convicted of murdering 17 women between 1971 and 1983. It reminded me very much of the Robin Williams movie Insomnia (2002, directed by Christopher Nolan) which also features a serial killer in Alaska. The two are very different stories, however. The Frozen Ground is true while Insomnia is fiction, an American re-make of a Swedish movie of the same title.
John Cusak plays Robert Hansen. It seems typical of serial killers that they live normal lives in the open and their secret is discovered only by happenstance, to the amazement of his neighbors. In addition, he had some relatively minor run-ins with the law, none of which led to his exposure. But in this case tedious detective work by Nicolas Cage based on slim evidence from the sole survivor of a Hansen attack led him to Hansen. Hansen’s victims were women in the sex trade, which accounted for a lackluster investigation by police into their disappearances. That’s often the case, isn’t it? Marginal members of society are given the least regard.
Lacking firm evidence of a murder charge Cage instead gained access to the man’s home and his life on gun-related charges, with much resistance from the District Attorney who anticipated a collapsed case. In the end, because he covered his tracks so well, charges and conviction depended upon Hansen’s confession.
This was a tense thriller. John Cusak doesn’t seem the sort to play a serial killer, but that’s exactly why he was so good in the role. Serial killers never seem like the sort. That’s why they go undetected for so long.