Review of The Ice Storm (1997) by Pascal V — 12 Jun 2010

Great performances by some of Hollywood's best, combined with a heavy plot, add up to an interesting, entertaining, but somewhat unrewarding film.

It's hard to go wrong when your cast includes the talented Joan Allen, Kevin Kline, Christine Ricci, Tobey McGuire, Elijah, Wood, and Katie Holmes. Not to mention the underrated Allison Janney, who plays the slightly twisted host of the key swapping party.

Actually, it's that party that points me toward my biggest problem with the film. I just couldn't buy some of the events, and related behavior by certain characters. Clearly the director, Ang Lee, needs to impress upon us how troubled some of these individuals are, but I had my own set of troubles trying to buy into much of it. What we have is by most standards a fairly normal families, in a normal community, pursuing normal endeavors, but everyone is doing strikingly bizarre things.

This is a mildly dark and brooding film with embedded messages about family, trust, and loyalty. It manages to be equally uplifting and painful, but that overly-strange character behavior must be endured.