Ice Storm, The: The Criterion Collection

I would hate for this review to turn people away from this movie. I was NOT bored watching it, I was consumed. This is one of the best films of the 90's, and deserves the criterion treatment. To give DVDTOWN more of an idea of what they might expect with this movie I will attempt to give a brief summary.

The movie, and the book it is based on, concerns life in 1973, in an upper middle class suburb. The adults in the movie are unable to connect with each other so they latch onto self destructive means of relieving the feeling of isolation. The kids on the other hand, are acting more like adults than the adults. They seem to be more aware of their feelings of isolation, and they too act to find comfort in these surroundings.

As you can tell by the title of the film, weather plays a key role in the film. It highlights the theme of isolation, and also draws an unexpected reminder of the powers of nature. These characters may feel alone but they are part of something larger than their suburban jobs and affairs.

The performances in this movie are amazing, in particular Joan Allen.

Please please please see this movie if you have not!! this is one of those movies where I would give the film value a 10/10.

while i don't agree with chris's final judgment, i feel that chris's thematic reading of the movie via the comic-book angle is spot-on.

dorfhombre,

I'm glad you posted something for the majority pro-argument, though I invite you yo offer even more should you feel up to it.

The one point I disagree with (and didn't mention in my review) is that I thought the acting was almost universally poor... except for Joan Allen who has never delivered a bad performance. I found Kline and Weaver, in particular, to be grating. Maguire is adequate, but as for Wood, all I can say is I wasn't sad to see him get zapped.

chris,

at the very least, didn't you like the scene with kevin kline blabbing about work and sigourney weaver responding, "i already have a husband i don't need another one."

:-D (Y)

eddie

Weaver actually won a BAFTA for best supporting actress for this role. Can you define "grating"? I am curious as to what aspect of the acting in this movie was harsh, most of the acting was pretty subtle. I am curious because I have always thought these were some of the best performances delivered by these actors including but not limited the portrayal of adolescent sexual activity whilst wearing a Nixon mask.

as chris has told me from time to time, the loudest actors usually win acting awards. i tend to agree with him. just look at this year's oscars. daniel day-lewis and marion cotillard basically screamed their ways through their respective movies. i haven't seen "there will be blood", but i haven't liked any of PTA's movies. i wanted to throw cotillard off pont neuf myself while watching "la vie en rose".

the best acting is not acting at all. see ben sliney in "united 93". (Y)

It's generally a safe bet that if the academy likes a performance, I probably don't. I don't pay enough attention to BAFTA to know if they have similar tastes, but I would guess they would.

While I wouldn't call the performances in "Ice Storm" over the top, by any means, I don't think the word "subtle" applies either. It's hard to tease apart direction acting I found the characters played by Kline and Weaver both unconvincing and, more to the point, utterly uninteresting.

The scene with the Nixon mask was one of many that felt forced to me (I used the word "overdetermined" in my review), and I though Ricci's character was a poorly-conceived construct of an adolescent that doesn't ring true in the least. Though her underaged and overdeveloped breasts were quite impressive.

Some people don't like horror. Some people don't like sci-fi. I find the "suburban malaise" film unbearable. It forces profundities where there are none and repackages cheap misanthropy as social critique.

"suburban malaise" films can get a little predictable. Remember this film was done in 1997, maybe before the onslaught of post American Beauty suburban malaise films. I think the malaise in this film has a little more to do with the awkward time period it takes place during than the fact that it takes place in suburbia.

Sam Mendes is making another suburban malaise film, Revolutionary Road, also in a different time period.

I love Horror movies, and Sci Fi, and Comedy. What I cannot stand are these "Twee" movies like Juno, The Squid and the Whale, and Thumbsucker. I miss the good old days where kids in movies were not hyper intellectual or heavily medicated. I think Ricci's Character in the Ice Storm is a little "hyper intellectual" but the other kids are kind of dumb, which I appreciated.

I'm with you no the "Twee" movies (I like that term). I walked out on Juno twice so I can't fairly judge the whole thing, but I found the dialogue excruciating. If I believed movies today, all teens are living a meta-adolescence where they are hyper-aware of every cliche of adolescence while still living through it.

I found "The Squid and the Whale" interesting in a detached way because I thought the characters in it were so completely alien as to be non-human. Yet I've heard from several people that the depictions are "spot on" which blows my mind, but maybe I just haven't met enough people.

many of the "twee" movies are basically "suburban malaise" movies, so essentially, dorf agrees with chris. (Y)

Hooray!!!!