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The Ice Storm
1997
It is Thanksgiving 1973, and the Carvers and the Hoods are two prototypical suburban families seemingly living the good life in New Canaan, Connecticut. Behind their New Age philosophies and polyester fashions, however, lies deep discontent. One husband carries on an unsatisfying affair with the other family's wife, while his .. Read more
| Starring | Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Henry Czerny |
|---|---|
| Director | Ang Lee |
| Genres | Drama |
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The Ice Storm
It is Thanksgiving 1973, and the Carvers and the Hoods are two prototypical suburban families seemingly living the good life in New Canaan, Connecticut. Behind their New Age philosophies and polyester fashions, however, lies deep discontent. One husband carries on an unsatisfying affair with the other family's wife, while his teenage daughter experiments sexually with both of the neighbor's boys. When a winter storm descends upon their upper middle class neighborhood, buried resentments bubble over, leading to a tragedy neither family will ever forget.
An intense, well-acted drama based on the novel by Rick Moody, THE ICE STORM is a masterly depiction of the frigid emotional life of suburbia. Great care was made to accurately re-create the fashion, philosophy, and music of the 1970s without devolving into camp. Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, and Joan Allen all excel in their roles, but it is the younger actors (Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood, Adam Hann-Byrd) who steal the show. For director Ang Lee, the film continues the subtle examination of family life that he began with THE WEDDING BANQUET and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN.
| Starring | Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Henry Czerny, Adam Hann-Byrd, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Jamey Sheridan, Elijah Wood, Katie Holmes, Courtney Peldon, David Krumholtz, Michael Cumpsty, Allison Janney |
|---|---|
| Director | Ang Lee |
| Studio | WALT DISNEY STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 48 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | English |
| Released | DVD: 15 Jun 2006 Production year: 1997 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (5)
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Rick Moody's novel about two dysfunctional families in suburban New England is brought to the screen by Asian-American director Ang Lee as an accomplished ensemble drama that covers similar ground to American Beauty, but is more fatalistic in tone. Set in 1973, the film focuses on the increasingly complicated relationships between neighbouring families the Carvers and the Hoods, with Nixon's unfolding Watergate disgrace as the backdrop. Ben Hood (Kevin Kline) is cheating on his wife (Joan Allen) with bored neighbour Janey Carver (an out-of-character Sigourney Weaver), while their teenage children are experimenting with their own sexual desires. Cinematographer Frederick Elmes's beautifully realised ice storm draws the drama to a climax. Outstanding performances by Allen and Weaver as the disenchanted wives are matched by those of the younger cast members — Elijah Wood, Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire and Adam Hann-Byrd.
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A cool and clever dissection of troubled people in confusing times, though its puritan connection between illicit sex and death seems forced.
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Most helpful member's review
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23 out of 23 people found this review helpful
It’s Cold Outside
But it’s none too warm inside either in Ang Lee’s well crafted, elegant, but frosty exposition of cosy, suburban middle class Americana standing at the wrong end of the Sixties sexual revolution and facing the slow decay of the American Dream.
Lee’s film charts the quiet dysfunction of two affluent Connecticut middle class families during a real (and pivotal) ice storm that occurred during the Thanksgiving festivities of 1973. But against a wider backdrop of an America mired in and disillusioned by Watergate, and with the spectre of Vietnam, don’t be fooled that this is the only “ice storm” on the horizon.
From adults lost in a world of confusion, unfulfilling infidelities and hypocrisy, to the burgeoning sexuality of their equally lost children, The Ice Storm lays bare the complicated lives and entanglements within and between the two families, whilst at the same time throwing a few cultural nods towards the worlds of Salinger and Updike, thus also serving as a clever metaphor for America at that time and all that ailed it.
Lee’s meticulously detailed direction perfectly captures the period, fashioning a tale that is both hauntingly poetic and darkly comedic and garnering top notch performances from a stellar ensemble with a script that allows both adults and children to bring something to the proceedings.
In terms of opening a window to a skewered suburbia – American Beauty is maybe the more lauded, but The Ice Storm probably did it better.
Highly recommended. -
Most recent members' review
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5 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Nothing short of superb
Not often do I watch a film that I am totally blown away by, but Ice Storm is one such film. Stop reading this, hire it.
Watch and enjoy. -
News and features
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The Namesake
- 26 Mar 2007
The distributors of Mira Nair's new film missed a trick when they decided to release it a couple of weeks after Mother's Day. Father's Day would have worked too. Far as I know there is no such thing as Children's Day (every day is children's day), but what I'm getting at, The Namesake is the kind of movie you should take your folks to, or your kids, if they're grown-up. And pack some tissues. You'll bond. The trailer makes it look like it's all about Kal Penn, which is a little misleading -... Read more
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It is Thanksgiving 1973, and the Carvers and the Hoods are two prototypical suburban families seemingly living the good life in New Canaan, Connecticut. Behind their New Age philosophies and ... -