THE ICE STORM (R)
Directed by Ang Lee Running Time: 113 minutes Originally Released: September 27, 1997 (USA-wide)
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* * * (out of four)
"When it's cold, molecules aren't moving. Everything is clean."
These are the essential words of Mikey Carver (Elijah Wood), a young teenage boy living in 1973 New Canaan, Connecticut in THE ICE STORM. When Mikey delivers these words to a bored science class, it is unlikely that anyone realizes how much they parallel Mikey's life and the lives that surround him. His father Jim (Jamey Sheridan) is rarely seen and his mother Janey (Sigourney Weaver) is having an affair with married neighbor Ben Hood (Kevin Kline). Ben's wife Elena (Joan Allen) suspects the affair, but doesn't say anything. Meanwhile, Ben's 14-year-old daughter Wendy (Christina Ricci) continuously lures Mikey and his younger brother Sandy (Adam Hann-Byrd) into sexual explorations.
Tobey Maguire plays Paul Hood, the 16-year-old narrator of the story who also happens to be the least prevalent character. We start the film with an interesting outlook on family from Paul. He compares family to the Fantastic Four comic book, and even goes so far as to say that family is everybody's own anti-matter; something everybody will return to eventually, and the farther you go, the deeper you'll return.
THE ICE STORM is a character piece that explores a dismal time both in America, and in the individual lives portrayed in the movie. Everything parallels everything else. The young teenagers trying to discover who they are thru drugs, sex, and alcohol is really almost identical to the parents trying to figure out the purpose in their own lives using the same methods.
"When it's cold outside, the molecules aren't moving. Everything is clean."
Everything is clean because nobody will admit what's going on. Even the president is on TV denying his wrong-doings. How can you expect anything more out of a couple of suburban families riding the coattails of sexual revolution? All the sex and drugs is so obviously empty, and I think that's the point of the film. At first viewing, the entire movie might seem empty, but then why shouldn't it parallel itself? You don't get to know the characters very deeply, but I think that's because nobody in the movie knows each other either. We sadly watch two families go about their lives nearly oblivious to one another. At first glance, you might think emotion is lost in the ending scenes because you haven't gotten to know the characters well enough to sympathize - then you realize that just might be the point, and then you do feel the pain.
The acting by all is quite good, but I particularly liked Elijah Wood. He doesn't seem to be receiving as much recognition as the others, but I still found him to possess quite a real sense of being. Christina Ricci is being acclaimed for her part as the misguided teenage temptress who looks for something more to her life in the pants of every available boy. Still, I say hats off remain to Wood, Joan Allen's subtle but believable performance as a lonely, unappreciated wife, and the always excellent Kevin Kline. Tobey Maguire did a fine job, but his character which, perhaps, was the most intact, sensible person in the story, seemed a little lost. He was needed, but perhaps he should've been used more.
THE ICE STORM is being hailed by many as one of the best films of the year. I hate to say that I don't agree, but I don't. In fact, I can think of many other films that I would rank higher than this one. Even so, it is a very good film. It takes a lot of retrospect to fully appreciate it's art, but when you finally start seeing things in it that you didn't before, you start to grow even fonder of the characters and the story. Perhaps this is one to see, ponder, and then watch again with different eyes.
December 16, 1997
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