This dramatic thriller is a ball of confusion, but with barely any bounce. The one reason to see it: Patricia Clarkson’s subtle star turn.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
Ms. Clarkson and Mr. Speedman do what they can with their underwritten and overly contrived roles... Late in the game, Tim Roth boats in as Tom, a local with a grudge, and shocks the movie to life by throwing some lightning bolts of his own.
October Gale plays like an adaptation of a quick outline for a romantic thriller, rushed into production before anyone got around to actually writing the screenplay and fleshing things out.
New Orleans Times-Picayune by Mike Scott
It's a film that benefits greatly from Clarkson's well-seasoned chops, given that the first act of October Gale -- while illuminating with regard to her character -- boasts precious little dialog.
The film begins as a moodily introspective drama about grief before implausibly morphing into a stale thriller.
October Gale features picturesque scenery, crisply photographed by Jeremy Benning, and composed in shots that could pass for glossy tourist postcards. The two stars are pretty to look at, but Canada is hard to upstage.
Village Voice by Serena Donadoni
The performances in October Gale subvert genre expectations: Clarkson displays toughness and resolve without turning into Liam Neeson, and the distressed Speedman is as vulnerable as he is determined.
Los Angeles Times by Sheri Linden
The action unwinds with the mechanical artifice of a creaky play, though Nadda creates a few strikingly cinematic moments.
RogerEbert.com by Susan Wloszczyna
The best parts of this tepid thriller, which seems designed to actually lower audience’s heart rates, arrive before the plot kicks in.