The Cold Lands | |
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Directed by | Tom Gilroy |
Produced by |
Philipp Engelhorn Andrew Goldman Paul Mezey Michael Raisler |
Written by | Tom Gilroy |
Starring |
Silas Yelich Lili Taylor Peter Scanavino |
Music by | Hahn Rowe |
Cinematography | Wyatt Garfield |
Edited by | Julia Bloch |
Distributed by | Cinereach |
Release date
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Running time
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101 minutes |
Country | Germany |
Language | English |
The Cold Lands is a 2013 drama film directed by Tom Gilroy. It stars Silas Yelich as Atticus Garfield, Lili Taylor as his mother Nicole, and Peter Scanavino as Carter.
The film premiered in February 2013 at the Berlin Film Festival and was screened at various festivals throughout 2013 and 2014.
After 11-year-old Atticus Garfield's (Silas Yelich) mother Nichole (Lili Taylor) dies suddenly, Atticus runs away from home to live in the Catskills by himself, surviving on whatever he can find. While dealing with his mother's death and living alone in the wilderness, Atticus encounters a hippie named Carter (Peter Scanavino), who sells necklaces at festivals and lives in his car. The two become dependent on each other, though neither is comfortable with the alliance.
Reviews of The Cold Lands have been somewhat mixed; as of August 2014, the film has a 64% rating from Rotten Tomatoes.
The A.V. Club reviewer Todd VanDerWerff gave The Cold Lands a B- rating, stating, "There are the bones of the stereotypical “loser has his life turned around by a kid” story here, but Gilroy takes all of this to a more realistic, more interesting place, and he manages to find an ending for the story that offers a touch of optimism but doesn’t feel like a cheat."
Michael Stipe has worked with Director/Screenwriter Tom Gilroy on a variety of projects for decades. Stipe agreed to create the soundtrack for The Cold Lands, which was his first work since R.E.M. disbanded in 2011. However, the final original score heard in the film was composed by Hahn Rowe, known for his work with the band Hugo Largo. The song heard in the opening and closing credits is "Rhymes of an Hour" by Mazzy Star.