‘The Dead of Winter’ Review: Emma Thompson Warms the Frozen Heart of an Icy, Generic Thriller

‘The Dead of Winter’ Review: Emma Thompson Warms the Frozen Heart of an Icy, Generic Thriller

Emma Thompson’s palpable aura of capability and down-to-earth shrewdness has seldom been better deployed than in “The Dead of Winter.” Without the star channelling the blunt good sense and sing-song Minnesotan vowels of “Fargo’s” Marge Gunderson, Brian Kirk’s midwestern midwinter thriller would amount to little more than an episode of “Criminal Minds” with a bigger landscape photography budget. With her, however, the film just about performs a…

‘The Dead Of Winter’ review: Emma Thompson saves the day in this ...

Locarno premiere finds the beloved star playing a grieving widow who must rescue a kidnapped young woman

Review: The Dead of Winter

11/08/2025 - Brian Kirk transports the audience to the snowy plains of Minnesota where the uncontaminated countryside forming the backdrop to his characters’ lives hides unanticipated dangers