Film Review: Whiteout

Posted by: – Sep 11, 2009

We learn early on in Whiteout that Antarctica is a terrifying place. The bitter cold makes it impossible to survive without shelter for very long. The strong winds make guide ropes necessary just to walk from one building to the one next door, and every now and then the winds pick up strong enough to create the titular effect which blinds anyone unlucky enough to be out in it, and leaves them stranded if they do not have a hold on a guide rope. This could have been an excellent setting for a murder mystery. The fact that merely surviving is just as difficult as working to solve a case could have made this film very gripping. Unfortunately, the filmmakers decided to leave the focus off the natural dangers of the environment and instead throw in a masked murderer with an ice pick. The result is a generic thriller that bores more than it excites, and a painfully predictable mystery.

The film opens on a Russian cargo plane flying over Antarctica during the Cold War. There are two pilots on the plane and also three guards gathered around a locked crate. A firefight erupts between the pilots and the guards and the plane goes down, leaving only a mess of bodies and one very important crate to be buried beneath the ice. This opening is fairly well done. It is eerie and mysterious, and it makes us believe that we are in for a far more compelling story than what we wind up with.

After the opening scene, we jump forward through time to an Antarctic base in the present day. Kate Beckinsale, as U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko, is preparing to leave the base as the last transport for six months departs in only two days. Her plans are put on hold, though, when a pilot reports spotting a body out on the ice. When Carrie and the base doctor retrieve and examine the body, they deem it a murder, the first to ever occur on Antarctica. Now, Carrie, along with UN Agent Robert Pryce, must solve the case before the last transport leaves, or else they will be stuck in Antarctica alone for six months.

This really is not a bad premise. The main problem is that every time the mystery begins to become interesting, the accursed ice pick wielding villain shows up to chase them around. It is clearly meant to heighten the tension, but it has the exact opposite effect. It is enough to know that obviously someone around the base must be the murderer since skipping town is not an option in Antarctica. Is it really a good idea to chase the police around with an ice pick after you kill someone? I would think hiding or coming up with an alibi would be better options. Perhaps this killer somehow knew ahead of time that even though Carrie is very clearly carrying a gun, she would never think to draw it on the masked killer running at her with sharp weapon.

This hesitance is actually addressed in flashbacks. Apparently, two years ago, Carrie had to use her gun in the line of duty. It was so traumatic that it made her take the position in Antarctica to get away from major crimes. Once Pryce realizes what Carrie is dealing with, he takes five minutes to talk her through issues that she has been unable to work through in two years. It is not only hokey, but unnecessary. It seems that nobody goes to Antarctica by choice. They must be driven there by some traumatic event. Perhaps Pryce had a similar experience. He never takes a shot at the killer, either.

Whiteout is actually based on a graphic novel which was released over four issues. This makes sense. The story undoubtedly works better in a more episodic format. Flashbacks and random encounters with the killer probably do not become so tiresome when they are divided between monthly issues. Unfortunately, Whiteout is unable to stand up to the transition from comic to film. There is already one sequel to the graphic novel, though, and a second is set to start soon. Perhaps we will see better adaptations of these stories in the future.

By Gareth Mussen