TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Andrew Ray Years before he hit big with "Brokeback Mountain," Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee released what I consider to be an even better film, 1997's "The Ice Storm." Kevin Kline and Joan Allen play Ben and Elena Hood, a seemingly happily-married suburban couple in 1973 Connecticut. Tobey Maguire and the still teenage Christina Ricci play their children, Paul and Wendy. But alas, all is not as vanilla as it seems, for Ben is having an affair with a neighbor, Janey Carver, played by Sigourney Weaver, in her best (and most vulnerable) performance ever. Ironically, daughter Wendy is sexually experimenting with Janey's son Sandy.The Hoods and the Carvers both attend the same "key party," a form of swinging in which the women draw the men's car keys from a bowl, then sleep with the owner of the keys. Here, Janey's husband, Jim (Jamey Sheridan) realizes his wife is having an affair with their neighbor. He and Elena spend the night together too, then return to find their teenage children in bed with one another. So two families, one affair, and three liaisons. Yes, Kevin Kline stars, but this is not some fraternity-level comedy. This is a serious, heartbreaking dramatic representation of the ashes burned from the sexual revolution of the 1970s – all played against the backdrop of a New England ice storm brewing outside.Those of us too young to participate have a tendency to think of the sexual revolution as some kind of wild, ongoing swingers' party, in which partners were traded and swapped like baseball cards, and those unfortunate enough to be married would certainly play along without feeling any repercussions to the traditional family structure. This is obviously an inaccurate description, and Ang Lee brilliantly illuminates the anguish experienced by many families. I suppose the most distressful relationship of all is that of the sexually-catechizing teenagers. Studies have shown children mimic their parents, and if their parents are sleeping together, well then… The performances are all first-rate, especially Sigourney Weaver, who was nominated for a Supporting Actress Golden Globe award. And it's revealing to watch Christina Ricci at 17 years old, in her first "adult" role. Her Wendy character carries herself with the poise of her mother, yet with the guilelessness of a child. James Schamus' screenplay (a winner at the Cannes Film Festival that year) features some of the most candid and open dialogue I've ever witnessed. Lee smartly refrains from overdirecting – letting his star cast elucidate the material effectively. Kline and Weaver let us into the hearts and souls of their philandering characters, allowing us not so much to judge them, but to feel their pain, as it were. We not only bear witness to their struggles, but we develop a connection to their very souls.Unfortunately, "The Ice Storm" was simply lost in the shuffle of all the great motion pictures of 1997 – the box office champ and critical success "Titanic," Curtis Hanson's "L.A. Confidential," Paul Thomas Anderson's first classic "Boogie Nights," Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's breakout film "Good Will Hunting," and Dustin Hoffman in "Wag The Dog." Plus Robert Duvall and Peter Fonda turned in the best performances of their long, successful careers with "The Apostle" and "Ulee's Gold," respectively. There simply wasn't room for "The Ice Storm" in the conversation, although it certainly deserves its place on the mantle of the many virtuoso films of 1997. This was one of the finest films of one of the best years ever for motion pictures.

Blake Peterson The late '60s/early '70s were a hard era for everyone. Gone were the years of trusting the government, of listening to cultural norms; too cynical were the times. After decades of oppressive societal expectations, housewives no longer had to imitate Lucy Ricardo, the kiddos didn't have to reek of Cherry Cokes and wholesomeness, and the husbands suddenly didn't have to only bring home the bacon; they had to think about their feelings, too. Some thrived, some stumbled — putting out one's most kept secret emotions onto a table for everyone to see isn't an easy thing to do, after all. So you had your Bob and Carol and Ted and Alices, swinging away and having fun (for the most part), but you also had your bourgeoisie trying on the clothes of the open-minded and not knowing what the hell to do with them."The Ice Storm" is a flurry of sexual, drugged out, pathos infused liberties, perfectly capturing the simultaneously free and miserable echoes of its time period. None of the characters are happy, so much so that it seems fairly plausible that they miss the suffocation of the time in which they could mimic "Leave It to Beaver" and be contently empty. Ang Lee, pre-"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and post-"Sense and Sensibility", directs "The Ice Storm" not as a head-shaking cynic but as a voyeur helpless when approached by the lost decisions of Rick Moody's characters.Taking place over the Thanksgiving weekend of 1973, "The Ice Storm" puts in motion a parade of maladjusted actions, specifically focusing on the Hood family and their neighbors, the Carvers. Mrs. Hood (Joan Allen) has picked up a shoplifting habit and is hardly speaking to her husband; Mr. Hood, in the meantime, is having a soulless affair with Mrs. Carver (Sigourney Weaver). And as Mr. Carver (Jamey Sheridan) busies himself with out-of-town business ventures, the kids of the families mostly hang around his home. Wendy Hood (Christina Ricci), a sexually curious 14-year-old, is in the process of attempting to seduce both Carver sons (Elijah Wood, Adam Hann-Byrd), either through make out sessions or show-me-yours-I'll-show-you-mine romps. The older Hood child, Paul (Tobey Maguire), is away at prep school, experimenting with drugs and attempting to win the heart of the damaged Libbets Casey (Katie Holmes). All of these characters are like trains ready to derail, and as an upcoming ice storm looms in the clouds, ready to destroy the premises, their emotions begin to mount until they reach an existential breaking point. "The Ice Storm" is not the kind of film you analyze, the kind you have all figured out before the closing tells you otherwise. This is a movie you want to observe, to listen to, to discuss later but savor in the moment. The plot is complicated, sure to tangle — but it effortlessly connects the dots like a well-guided Altman epic, brilliant in its conception and brilliant in how well each side-plot complements the other. It's a movie of heightened discontent, one in which the characters attempt to escape by utilizing their newfound freedoms (sex, alcohol, drugs) but realize that, deep inside, a larger void is waiting to be filled and material things can hardly do the job. The film causes an ache in our heart, partly because it's difficult to see people suffer so intensely and partly because we are just as much in the dark regarding how to end their misery as they are. They feel helpless, we feel helpless — it's a vicious cycle that stays unforgettable.The performances are phenomenal, the actors embodying their roles instead of keeping a safe distance away from them. "The Ice Storm" is a movie built on emotion and life-is- comedy situations, not worn out melodramatic devices — Lee, certainly one of the most versatile directors of the last two decades, keeps melancholy pumping and solution at a safe distance; in Tinsel Town, it's easy to invent a resolution for the sake of a happy ending. But things aren't so simple in "The Ice Storm" — agony is much more common than glittered fuckery.

powermandan I honestly think 1997 was the best year for movies. Look at all the calibre hits that came out that year. Even the non-great films (The Edge, Spawn) were still cool to see.Out of everything that came out that year, The Ice Storm is the most overlooked. I had only heard of it after seeing Gene Siskel's annual Top 10 lists. He ranked this the best movie of 1997. Although I disagree that it is the best, it is certainly in my top 10.The Ice Storm stars Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Henry Czerny, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood, Katie Holmes and David Krumholtz. Aside from Titanic, this has the best cast of 1997. The movie is about two neighbouring families: the Hoods (Kline, Allen, Maguire, Ricci) and the Carvers (Weaver, Sheridan, Wood, Byrd). Each member have their own subplots that are ruining their lives, and eventually intertwine. Kline is sleeping with Weaver and struggling with drinking; Allen suspects infidelity; Wood wants to get serious with Ricci but she wants to do some exploration; Maguire gets high with his prep friends and wants Holmes. The coldest storm ever is about to hit and effect everyone. This is a coming of age story for everyone in it. I could really relate to every subplot. Everybody is selfish and not caring about the other, that is pretty much what the movie is about. When the storm hits, some images stay with you as they symbolize different things in the story. Sometimes, ice is a nice thing to see and we also see it in its darkness. Each time the ice changes its mood, it foreshadows the mood coming up. The ice could also be used to represent how the main characters are: cold. None of the characters are really nice or likable. But they are still very compelling and interesting. How Ang Lee could do that is beyond me. They live in the woods in suburban New York. That could show how isolated they are with reality and the rest of the world. It all builds up to a shocking and heartfelt conclusion that stays with you for a long time. The denouement is a real tearjerker. Afterwards, you are left thinking about the movie as a whole and what it all says. Everything that the movie says is phenomenal.Still Ang Lee's best movie.

SnoopyStyle It's Thanksgiving 1973 New Canaan, Connecticut. Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is going home to his dysfunctional parents (Kevin Kline, Joan Allen) and promiscuous sister Wendy (Christina Ricci). Their best friends are the Carvers (Sigourney Weaver, Jamey Sheridan, Elijah Wood, Adam Hann-Byrd). The two families share more than simple friendship. Paul is in love with rich schoolmate Libbets Casey (Katie Holmes) but his roommate Francis Davenport (David Krumholtz) is moving in.The theme of ice and cold infuses the whole movie. It's a world of disconnected people and their secrets. The actors are all superb from the adults to all the kids. It does need the connective tissues to make this flow more. The disconnections from the characters just build and build until the literal ice storm.