A fine road show picture

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2016)

This is a better film than I expected. It was as good as I hoped. While I won't call it a masterpiece, it is definitely a B+.
Some think it drags. It does not. There are no long speeches and the dialogue is for the most part well-suited to the situation.
The realism here is impressive as is the detail. It doesn't look cold. It was cold. The interior scenes were shot in the cold to maintain verisimilitude and I for one appreciated that.
The character of John Ruth is melodramatic almost to the point of being cartoon-like. That is the one serious flaw I find with the writing. The narrative flashback to explain the setup is a bit out of place, but the choice not to begin at the beginning was the right one.
See it in 70mm if you can. The high resolution is impressive, especially obvious when faces are in view.