Review of The Ice Storm (1997) by Anand K — 08 Jul 2013

One of Ang Lee's best works. The real ice storm is between the characters and even in the 1970's people were still doing things that were considered taboo. Plus Americans at the time were dealting with the infamous Watergate scandal, booze, swapping partners and drugs. This is a great film.

My fav is seeing Joan Allen. She is one hell of an actress and continues to take on intelligent roles. I love the scene where she winds up at a swinger house party and ends up having an affair with a guy (who is also married) in the front seat of a car. I think Allen says "Do these seats go back?" Great line. Christina Ricci character wants to explore her sexuality, Sigorney Weaver is great and reminds me of those great nympho housewives unsatisfied yet always looking for an edge, Kevin Kline is great too as the father who wants to instill discipline to his family and yet his character is also flawed since he is having an affair.

I noticed most Americans were dealing with Watergate since it was on TV everyday.

My fav is seeing Joan Allen. She is one hell of an actress and continues to take on intelligent roles. I love the scene where she winds up at a swinger house party and ends up having an affair with a guy (who is also married) in the front seat of a car. I think Allen says "Do these seats go back?" Great line. Christina Ricci character wants to explore her sexuality, Sigorney Weaver is great and reminds me of those great nympho housewives unsatisfied yet always looking for an edge, and finally I noticed most Americans were dealing with Watergate since it was on TV everyday. The ending is painful to watch and well as any sad tragedy, life will always continue to go on.

Plot.

The Ice Storm looks into the lives of a wealthy Connecticut family who are calm and civil on the outside, but whose lives are quietly falling into chaos. Sixteen-year-old Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is home for the holidays from prep school; he'd just as soon have stayed at school, given the usual level of tension around the house and his desire to win the affections of Casey (Katie Holmes), a girl living in Manhattan. His 14-year-old sister, Wendy (Christina Ricci), is already a hardened cynic obsessed with the ongoing Watergate investigation, and she has begun acting out sexually with a neighbor boy, Mikey (Elijah Wood). Apparently, this runs in the family: Wendy's father, Ben (Kevin Kline), is having an affair with Mikey's mother, Janey (Sigourney Weaver), though Ben sees a future in the relationship and Janey does not. Elena (Joan Allen), Ben's wife, knows something is wrong with her marriage and her life, but she has no idea what she should do about it.