Actress Mary Steenburgen, desperate for work, accepts a job "acting" for a couple of old coots living in an isolated manor; turns out they need her to complete an outlandish blackmail plot (which of course will leave their hired victim expendable). A good cast and a fine director end up wading through a murky story that is, by turns, manipulative and downright foolish. Though not particularly violent, the film--a box-office failure in 1987--is pushy and ugly, exhibiting no sympathy for either Steenburgen nor the audience (both are trapped). Loosely based on the legendary short film "My Name Is Julia Ross", which did the whole thing much better in half the time and on half the budget. * from ****
Review of Dead of Winter
