''Cold Comfort'' is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

film, released in 1989.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 45. The film was written by

Richard Beattie Richard Beattie is a Canadian screenwriter. He is most noted for the 1989 film '' Cold Comfort'', for which he and Elliot L. Sims won the Genie Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 11th Genie Awards in 1990. Born and raised in British Colum ...

and Elliot L. Sims based on the play by Jim Garrard, and directed by

Vic Sarin Victor Sarin (born 1945) is an Indian-born Canadian/American film director, producer and screenwriter. His work as a cinematographer includes ''Partition'', ''Margaret's Museum'', '' Whale Music'', '' Nowhere to Hide'', ''Norman's Awesome Exper ...

. The film premiered in August 1989 at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

.John Griffin, "Director gets Cold Comfort from long series of glitches". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', August 29, 1989.

Plot

Stephen

Paul Gross Paul Michael Gross OC (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian actor, director, writer, producer, and musician born in Calgary, Alberta. Gross is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the popular Canadian television series ''Due So ...

is a salesman who gets drawn into a sexual psychodrama between Floyd (

Maury Chaykin Maury Alan Chaykin (July 27, 1949 – July 27, 2010) was an American–Canadian actor, best known for his portrayal of detective Nero Wolfe, as well as for his work as a character actor in many films and television programs. Personal lif ...

), a

sociopathic Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

truck driver, and his daughter Dolores (

Margaret Langrick Margaret Langrick (born 1971) is a Canadians, Canadian writer and retired actress. She is now known as Maggie Langrick, and is the CEO of the publishing company Wonderwell. Filmography Films *''My American Cousin'' (1985) as Sandy Wilcox *''Ha ...

), when the three are caught together in a blizzard. The film's cast also includes

Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in the comedy film ''Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Wai ...

Ted Follows Edward James Follows (November 30, 1926 – October 21, 2016) was a Canadian film, television and stage actor. He was best known for playing the role of Macduff in ''Macbeth'' at the Stratford Festival and the 1961 CBC Television film adaptatio ...

, Richard Fitch and Grant Roll.

Production

The film was slated to be shot in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, but had to be relocated to

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

after production delays led the arrangements to fall through.

Cynthia Preston Cynthia Preston, sometimes credited as Cyndy Preston (born May 18, 1968), is a Canadian actress. Life and career Preston was born in Toronto, Ontario. She made her screen debut in the 1986 television film ''Miles to Go...'' playing Jill Clayburgh ...

had also been originally cast in the role of Dolores, but had to drop out after suffering injuries in a car accident, and Langrick was cast to replace her. In 1990, Langrick reprised the role of Dolores in a Vancouver stage production of Garrard's original play.Liam Lacey, "Langrick reprises Genie-nominated role on Vancouver stage". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 17, 1990.

Reception

References

External links

* 1989 films 1980s psychological drama films 1980s psychological thriller films Canadian psychological drama films Canadian psychological thriller films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Vic Sarin Films based on Canadian plays Films set in Canada Films shot in Ontario Films scored by Mychael Danna 1989 crime drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films {{psychological-thriller-film-stub