Whiteout – Film Review

Kate Beckinsale Investigates a Gruesome Murder in Frozen Antarctica

Sep 11, 2009 Denise Castillón

An approaching ice storm advances on American research scientists, when a dead ice-covered body appears out of nowhere in this action thriller set in the South Pole.

Whiteout smartly integrates some very distinctive conditions unique to its Polar environment into its narrative. Regretfully, no such cleverness was spent on the who-do-it murder mystery plot.

Snotsicles and Other A-Factors

The year is 1957 in film’s opening sequence, and a Russian cargo plane flies over the Antarctic. A deadly gun fight breaks out between the planes’ pilots and the guards, who are safeguarding a padlocked metal box on board. When all are killed, the plane crash lands, and, in time, is buried in the snow and ice.

Fifty some years later, the U.S.’s South Pole research station, the Amundsen-Scott, is preparing for a personnel swap for the camp’s next rotation; winter. The Antarctic descends into darkness during the six month-long winter season.

U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko (Beckinsale), the sole law enforcement officer on the station, is eager to return stateside. She has completed her two-year stint in the most isolated land mass on the planet.

The Revelation of Secrets Long-Buried

A young pilot, Delfy (Columbus Short) has reported finding a dead body in a desolate area. The death is determined to be from an ice axe attack. The murder is the first for Antarctic. Now, until Stetko finds the killer, her departure is in jeopardy.

For mysterious reasons of her own, Stetko initially welcomed the seclusion offered by the remote post. Still, the policewoman’s only friend on the station is Dr. John Fury (Tom Skerritt), who is now looking forward to retirement.

The root of the aloof detective’s present-day distrustfulness is revealed in progressive flashbacks that, ultimately, gives away how to decipher the “bad guy”.

The murdered victim was a geologist from the nearby Russian camp, who was one of three scientists looking for meteorites hidden under the icy terrain. With the added support of U.N. investigator (Gabriel Macht) and Delfy, Stetko uncovers the old, buried airplane, and its long-dead passengers.

Once it is determined that it was also found by the Russian researchers, Stetko links the murder to the missing contraband once held in the empty metal box. An encroaching whiteout blizzard proves to be as threatening as the axe murderer on the loose.

The Cast and Crew of Whiteout

Whiteout stars Kate Beckinsale (Underworld), Gabriel Macht (The Spirit), Columbus Short (Stomp the Yard), and Tom Skerritt (Contact).

Directed by Dominic Sena (Swordfish). Screenplay by Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber and Chad Hayes & Carey W. Hayes, based on the graphic novel by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber. Cinematography by Christopher Soos. Edited by Stuart Baird and Martin Hunter. Production design by Graham Walker.

Produced by Joel Silver, Susan Downey and David Gambino. Executive producers are Don Carmody, Steve Richards and Greg Rucka.

Released in the U.S. by Warner Bros. Pictures.

(Running Time: 96 min)

(Rated: R; for Violence, Grisly Images, Brief Strong Language and Some Nudity.)

The copyright of the article Whiteout – Film Review in Action Films/Thrillers is owned by Denise Castillón. Permission to republish Whiteout – Film Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

WHITEOUT Poster Art	Kate Beckinsale as US Marshall Carrie Stetko	Tom Skerritt as DR. JOHN FURY with Beckinsale
Gabriel Macht as PRYCE in WHITEOUT	Columbus Short as DELFY and Beckinsale in WHITEOUT