The Ice Storm (1997)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Ang Lee

Writers:

Rick Moody (novel)
James Schamus (writer)

Release Date:

27 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

It was 1973, and the climate was changing.

Plot:

1973, suburban Connecticut: middle class families experimenting with casual sex, drink, etc., find their lives out of control.

Plot Keywords:

Storm | Ice | Thanksgiving | Connecticut | Watergate Scandal

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 4 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Kevin Kline	...	Ben Hood
Joan Allen	...	Elena Hood
Sigourney Weaver	...	Janey Carver
Henry Czerny	...	George Clair
Tobey Maguire	...	Paul Hood
Christina Ricci	...	Wendy Hood
Elijah Wood	...	Mikey Carver
Adam Hann-Byrd	...	Sandy Carver
David Krumholtz	...	Francis Davenport
Jamey Sheridan	...	Jim Carver
Kate Burton	...	Dorothy Franklin
William Cain	...	Ted Shackley
Michael Cumpsty	...	Philip Edwards
Maia Danziger	...	Mrs. Gadd
Katie Holmes	...	Libbets Casey

MPAA:

Rated R for sexuality and drug use, including scenes involving children, and for language.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Greenwich, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

The book Janey is reading while sitting on the water bed is "When She Was Good" by Philip Roth.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The MTA did not exist at the time.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Train Conductor: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. This train, originating from New York's Grand Central Station, is back in service. Next stop will be New Canaan, Connecticut. New Canaan, Connecticut next stop.
Paul Hood: [narration] In issue 141 of the Fantastic Four, published in November, 1973, Reed Richards had to use his anti-matter weapon on his own son, who Aannihilus has turn into the Human Atom Bomb. It was a typical predicament for the Fantastic Four, because they weren't like other superheroes...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 55th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1998) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Samba Triste

A subtly sardonic look inside middle-class Americana.

"Ice Storm" not only describes the weather in the Connecticut countryside but is also a metaphor for the pall which hangs over a pallid and dysfunctional middle-class suburban family of four in the 1970s. Sporting a stellar cast with Ang Lee at the helm, this well crafted, sensitive, artful production takes the audience into four lives outwardly living the "American Dream" while inwardly existing in a state of empty unfulfillment and quiet desperation. The tedious and laconic nature of the film may lose the less patient audience while those with a taste for psychodrama should enjoy it.