Review of The Ice Storm (1997) by Tristan G — 17 Sep 2009
The tale of two families set during the Thanksgiving weekend of 1973 in New Canaan, Connecticut (a bedroom community for New York City).
The film very effectively captures the look and fell of this time in history, including the Nixon-Watergate investigation being played out in the background on television. While in the foreground the film deals with the relationships within and between the two families including marital infidelity and adolescent curiosity, for an uncompromising look at what it means to be a family. All the characters seem isolated from one another and when they do try and connect there is miscommunication and embarrassment, everyone seems more comfortable in their own little worlds and they try to escape through means such as drugs, alcohol or comic books. We also get all sorts of 70รข??s pop psychology and the minutiae of life of at that time; the furniture, architecture, food , hair, makeup, language and attitudes all seem to perfectly capture that era.
Ice is used symbolically throughout the film and acts as a metaphor for the relationships and the feelings and as the title suggests the storm which is about to occur. There are some scenes of genuine humor but they seem subdues by the overall mood of the film which is best represented by ice.
The film was directed by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) and stars; Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood and Tobey Maguire.
The film looks good and feels very real and the performances are great across the board.
This review of The Ice Storm (1997) was written by Tristan G on 17 Sep 2009.
The Ice Storm has generally received very positive reviews.
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