CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

paul2001sw-1 Juliet McKeon's film 'Frozen' tells the story of a young woman searching for the truth about her disappeared sister, and has elements of the thriller, the supernatural, a tale of mental disintegration and, most convincingly, a portrait of Fleetwood (in Lancashire) as a place beyond the end of the world (think of Pavel Pawelikowski's interpretation of Margate in 'Last Resort', and then imagine somewhere even more bleak). But it's a low budget, low-key affair, and while I often consider these virtues, McKeon doesn't quite have the skill to put everything together, or the ability to lace her portrait of darkness with the dose of lightness and humanity necessary to make us care. The result is somewhat alienating for the viewer, and the final message unclear; it feels like a beginner's piece, and more reminiscent of a BBC television film from the 1980s than a conventional movie.

Tweekums Up until a few days ago I hadn't heard of this film but when I saw it listed in the television guide and read that the always excellent Shirley Henderson was in it I decided to give it a go. I'm glad that I did as it was pretty good.Shirley Henderson plays Kath a woman who can't get over the disappearance of her sister two years before. She is convinced that somebody has done something to her but the police have no evidence to suggest foul play. The only real clue is CCTV footage which shows her entering an alleyway but doesn't show her leaving. Kath is helped by the CCTV operator who lets her review the tapes and by her Counsellor who she discusses her problems with. I won't say anything about the ending as I wouldn't want to spoil it for first time viewers.The film is fairly bleak, both in the subject matter and the way it is filmed, there was a constant sense of isolation and cold. As I'd expected Shirley Henderson did a great job in the leading role, the supporting cast also put in good performances, I especially liked Roshan Seth as her counsellor. While I did enjoy the film I felt it looked more like a superior television production rather that a cinematic production intended for the big screen, not that that is necessarily a bad thing, it makes a nice change to see a thriller with no guns in sight let alone the explosions that seem de rigueur these days. If you get a chance to watch this fine film I'd certainly take it.

happy_hangman Juliet McKoen's 'Frozen' is an odd little film. On one level it's a simple mystery, with Shirley Henderson's sad, disturbed Kath searching for her missing sister. On another it's, in part at least, a re-telling of elements of 'Orpheus and Euridice' - complete with tragic finale. Surprisingly, given setting and subject matter, allusions to Greek myth are made throughout this film, often in a rather contrived manner (an Oracle, in the form of a CCTV camera, is consulted; a modern Charon is seen in visions; Kath sets off into the Underworld to find her beloved sibling, etc), often in a rather laboured manner – but it's an interesting approach Henderson, a most capable character actress, is as good as ever, and holds our attention throughout – and her Kath is genuinely touching. Of the supporting cast (a surprising number of whom seem drawn from the northern sit-com stable) only Roshan Seth as Kath's counsellor-cum-love-interest is worthy of note.Much of this subtlety in characterisation is, sadly, lost in the plot. The mystery at the heart of the story, it has to be said, is wafer thin – the final, fatal direction of Kath's sister's last known steps is blindingly obvious half-way through the film. That said, the inevitable end of the hero is one of the most notable features of Greek Tragedy, so perhaps this was intention. A good script, strong, subtle performances and skillful direction make this a most entertaining, if contrived tale.

Tim (R-T-C) I just returned from seeing this film in Lancaster. Hearing about a locally shot film, I expected not much more than a mini-DV cheapie. However this film is far removed from that.Kath is a young woman (33) whose sister Annie disappeared two years ago without a trance. Kath rather obsessively hunts around for information to try and work out what happened. The centre of her focus is CCTV footage of her sister, that seems to suggest that something odd happened.Shot entirely in the Lancaster/Morecambe/Fleetwood region, in the North West of the UK, the film has very powerful visuals, the scenes shot on the bay itself have an amazing dream-like quality almost Herzog-like. The direction is never pedestrian, always adding to scenes.Shirley Henderson is superb as Kath, who is just by rights, a typical northern girl and comes across very well as such. The supporting cast is all solid.The script is simply superb, with an ever changing story line, and some very interesting sub-plots, that add a lot of detail to the characters and remind you that nothing ever happens in isolation, there are always other things going on in their lives. Fortunately these do not pose any real pacing issues. The ending is solid.A unique film, it is hard to determine who it would really be aimed at, certainly fans of Don't Look Now, and similar, would really enjoy this - on a larger scale, any fans of small scale, artistic cinema should get their money's worth.In all, a very good film and certainly worth seeing if you get the chance. I am looking forward to a DVD release so I can watch it again.