In the Electric Mist (2009)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  4 / 10

  In The Electric Mist mystifies by containing no thrilling shocks and feeling exhaustingly endless. As always, I've not read Burke's original novel, because I rarely have time to watch all the films I want to let alone read books (blasphemy, I know). But as far as crime thrillers go, this is as straightforward as they come, packaged with Jones' usual consistent grumpy acting (which is good for this character, so...) yet an underused spirituality that shrouds the Louisiana swamps. Unsurprisingly then, this was not cinematically released in the US. I'm not shocked, it's tedious enough to put every insomniac to sleep. An alcoholic sheriff is investigating the murder of a young woman but soon realises that it is linked to unsolved cases from the past that he witnessed when a teenager.
  
  The investigation is functional and Tavernier adds that little bit of French panache to the directing. When the sheriff is crawling in the dark murky swamps looking for answers or assisting suspects, the film's cinematography excels. Daylight shots unfortunately look very TV-esque, as if watching an episode of 'True Detective'. Atmosphere instantly dissipates and even Jones' riveting central performance could not save the narrative from its slow moments. Oh wait, did I say "moments"? I meant the entire runtime. It's just under one hundred minutes but it feels like an eternity. It. Goes. On. And. On. And. On. And. On.
  
  The case itself is incredibly unfocused, with characters lacking memorability and ideas being incorrectly intertwined, notably the sheriff hallucinations of dead soldiers. It's fine to have no action or thrilling twists, as it makes the story realistic, but the dialogue has to be involving otherwise boredom creeps in. And crept in it did, nearly frickin' fell asleep twice. The supporting cast were also good, especially Goodman and Sarsgaard, yet given nothing interesting to do. Although there is a good confrontation between Goodman and Jones. This mist just isn't electrifying enough to warrant a captivating investigative thriller. "In The Boring Snooze-ooze" would be more apt.

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