Frozen

Shirley Henderson has cornered the market when it comes to playing the emotionally fragile waif and here she uses her talent to good effect in a small film that punches well above its weight. Frozen is wistful, dreamlike, and solidly unpretentious. Kathy's obsessive search for her missing sister Annie becomes increasingly elegiac as she discovers that Annie disappeared in the 'dead ground' between two surveillance cameras. This blind spot becomes a portal into another place, where she glimpses her sister. There are no flashy special effects here, just grey urban landscapes and melancholic shots of the mudflats of Morecombe Bay. In fact describing his movie does little to do it justice as its simple style belies its enigmatic charm. If you have to have car chases and shoot-outs in order to enjoy a movie Frozen is not for you, but if you appreciate a thoughtful study of pain and loss you should enjoy this film.