MovieChat Forums > Dreamcatcher (2003) Discussion > Ridiculous cold weather cliche

Ridiculous cold weather cliche

posted 13 years ago by Vibradiant
8 replies | jump to latest

Olyphant's character has just survived a car wreck, hurt his leg too badly to walk far, is sitting on the frozen ground next to a tiny fire as a winter storm descends in the middle of the woods, and wondering if he'll freeze before Eckhart's returns with the snow machine.

And despite that there is a wormy set of jaws lurking about unbeknown to him, I found myself distracted into the even more bizarre fact that his nice puffy winter coat with its phat hood is left wide open to the weather and falling snow.

W.T.F?

Maybe it's the result of my childhood chore of hauling on a toboggan for more than a 100 yards all the firewood necessary to heat an 80-foot trailer house with 3 inch thick, poorly insulated walls and a wood stove set under a hole my improvising, Finlander-descended father carved in the roof in the middle of the woods of northern Minnesota, but I can't look at a character trying to heat the wintry outdoors with his diminishing body warmth without damn near turning off whatever it is I'm watching.

But them, maybe I'm lucky that at least he wore a scarf and woolen hat. Few years earlier, and the director would probably want us to see his styled hair.

But for the love of a logical Christ, how f#*king hard is it to, say, have him zip up that coat and draw the hood to survive longer? Hasn't Lawrence Kasdan EVER visited a cold climate or even consider it was filmed in the WINTER? Or was it all digital snow?

Added over a year later: I have no idea why I thought the character for whom he waited to return was named Eckhart. It was Henry.

"I like to watch" Chauncey Gardiner, 'Being There'

[–] ipd02 13 years ago

2 things:

First, he probably didn't think he'd need to conserve that much body heat, due to being rescued soon.
Second, he's been drinking. People don't perceive cold temps as much as when they're sober, so that could probably explain it.

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[–] drone00 13 years ago

Anyone who lives in northern climates knows that it never snows when it's forty below. Snow storms usually mean milder temperatures, one to ten degrees below. At those temperatures, it's not unusual to unzip your coat or remove your headgear 'cause it's actually getting too warm (especially, like the previous poster said, after a few beers).

That scene didn't strike me as odd, and where I live, there's snow on the ground six months out of the year.

[–] ghostdog2041 13 years ago

Aaron Eckhart was in this movie?

Coming Soon... The December Man
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[–] Gordon_Gartrelle 13 years ago

This reminds me of when people want their first trip to NYC to be in the winter. Yes winter in the city is beautiful but it is also so cold that it's distracting.

I apologize for grammatical errors- a side effect of IMDbing on my iPhone.

[–] jtfriday2000 12 years ago

As a guy who has lived in the Upper Midwest (yes, Minnesota), I agree with the OP. That type of weather gets colder than you would believe.

First, he probably didn't think he'd need to conserve that much body heat, due to being rescued soon.
Second, he's been drinking. People don't perceive cold temps as much as when they're sober, so that could probably explain it.

Conserving body heat? What the hell? When you're in the cold, you're not thinking about conserving body heat, you're thinking about getting warm soon. Even if I had to wait 5 minutes I'd still zip up.

Vodka warms up your body, but only for a little while. No amount of alcohol stops you from being cold. Nor does it stop you from knowing you're cold. Fact.

Anyone who lives in northern climates knows that it never snows when it's forty below. Snow storms usually mean milder temperatures, one to ten degrees below. At those temperatures, it's not unusual to unzip your coat or remove your headgear 'cause it's actually getting too warm (especially, like the previous poster said, after a few beers).

That scene didn't strike me as odd, and where I live, there's snow on the ground six months out of the year.

The OP and I have lived in a place where there is snow 6 months of the year. And we both found that scene odd. What's your definition of mild temperature? 10 degrees F? One thing that struck me as odd was that the drunk guy was sitting around in the snow. Cold air stays at ground level and rises. If that was for real, he'd be shivering and trying to wipe snot from his nose.

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[–] Vibradiant 12 years ago

Apparently alcohol causes the blood vessels to dilate, bringing core warmth to the skin resulting in the sensation of heat, but in turn, the heat is transferring to the cold air passing over that skin, and slowly but surely diminishing the core temp.

http://firstaid.about.com/od/heatcoldexposur1/f/07_alcohol_warm.htm

Especially if injured (and likely experiencing some degree of shock), and not knowing how long it'd be 'til rescue, anybody with a lick of experience would be using all options available to prevent heat from exiting what clothing they had.

Hypothermia can set in for the un-injured at warmer temps than previous respondents apparently realize. And as much as it might seem so after a few, beer just ain't rocket fuel.

"I like to watch" Chauncey Gardiner, 'Being There'

[–] jtfriday2000 12 years ago

Apparently alcohol causes the blood vessels to dilate, bringing core warmth to the skin resulting in the sensation of heat, but in turn, the heat is transferring to the cold air passing over that skin, and slowly but surely diminishing the core temp.

http://firstaid.about.com/od/heatcoldexposur1/f/07_alcohol_warm.htm

Especially if injured (and likely experiencing some degree of shock), and not knowing how long it'd be 'til rescue, anybody with a lick of experience would be using all options available to prevent heat from exiting what clothing they had.

Hypothermia can set in for the un-injured at warmer temps than previous respondents apparently realize. And as much as it might seem so after a few, beer just ain't rocket fuel.

Thanks for the scientific info. Even without it I still agree with you. Alcohol may warm you up briefly (a few minutes). But being drunk doesn't stop you from feeling cold weather.

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[–] wwcatalyst 12 years ago

I think that Thomas Jane and Aaron Eckhart are often mistaken for each other.