Review of The Ice Harvest (2005) by Eric W — 15 Nov 2009

?The Ice Harvest? is definitely an acquired taste. It is a film of two halves, one that is a black comedy with some hilarious moments, and a deadly modern film noir. For those who are fans of the genres (such as myself) it is a very enjoyable spectacle.

The story is set the night before Christmas, as mob lawyer Charlie (John Cusack) decides that it is the best time to steal $2 million from the mob with his friend Vic (Billy Bob Thornton) as they attempt to finally get out of the small town of Wichita. Things of course are not as simple as that as the mob figure out about their plan and attempt to take out the pair before they can leave town.

The first hour or so is nothing short of hilarious as Charlie encounters his drunken friend Pete (Oliver Platt) as he attempts to keep him out of trouble and take him home safely. It is a bizarre friendship between the two since Pete is married to Charlie?s ex wife, and when Pete confesses that he was sleeping with Charlie?s wife when they were still married, Charlie is more curious about who she is having an affair with now instead of feeling anger towards Pete.

After an hour of fairly carefree laughter, things begin to take a sour and gruesome turn as the body count slowly begins to pile up. It is clear that Charlie really cannot trust anybody as almost all of the major characters slowly turn against him. It is bold and brave, but there is a feeling at the heart of it that it could be funnier. Overall it is a humours crime caper that has a good blend of humour and inventive violence.