Review of The Ice Harvest (2005) by Barry T — 24 Apr 2010

A better than average thriller somewhat butchered by an unnecessary emphasis on comedy. And poor direction.

Though well written and acted, the film can't make up its mind whether it should be a comedy or a thriller, pulling neither off well as a result, though it clearly would have worked much better as a thriller.

The story is somewhat interesting, taking a slight twist on the usual "caper" by showing what happens to characters in the hours following a successful heist. Suffice it to say, things don't go well, and the body count starts piling up quickly.

This approach was creative, and at times made the story feel very noir-ish, complete with a sexy femme fatale and various hidden motives and double crosses and the like, but it also made everything move a lot slower than I was expecting. Some scenes were even downright dull, but I think that had more to do with the directing and the poor cinematography than anything that was on the script. I just couldn't get into some scenes, or otherwise didn't care about the action.

But some stuff does work, and it's somewhat entertaining. This film is a poor man's Cohen Brothers' film; it has a complicated story with several interesting twists and a high body count, but, unlike a Cohen Brothers' film, it's shot with neither the skill nor the creativity they've become associated with over the years.

I also didn't much care for the actor who played John Cusack's friend; the drunk guy. He's usually a good actor, but he was miscast in the role.

Overall, eh, a good example of what happens when strong material is brought to the screen by less than capable hands. Eh.