By Adam Ruhl
Whitewash is a strange and fascinating ride. It’s almost a
one man show starring Thomas Haden Church (Wings) as Bruce, a snowplow driver who hits
someone during a storm and then just covers it up. Literally, plows some snow
over the body and drunk drives away. It’s when he wakes up in the plow the next
morning, stranded deep in the Canadian woods in winter, that the story really gets
going. What follows is a Shining-style descent into madness crossed with
Castaway. Interspersed with his exploits in the woods are sequences that
provide a context and back-story for how he came to this point.
Church gives a stand out performance, portraying Bruce’s
struggles with very little in the way of dialogue. The character has some voice overs but its much more compelling watching Bruce toil and try to cope with himself. Canada also gets a
spotlight, with the wilderness of Quebec beautifully captured in winter. The
opening of the film takes place in the woods at night creating a beautiful atmosphere
that gets lots of attention. Whitewash really empathizes its French-Canadian
setting, with many of the supporting players freely moving back and forth
between English and French.
The film is written and directed by first time feature
director Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais who took home an award for Best New Director at
the Tribeca Film Festival last year.
Whitewash is currently available from Oscilloscope
Laboratories on all premium digital platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, and XBOX Live.
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