What some may see as a flawed film - i.e., boring, pointless, flat, or offering unsympathetic characters, Ang Lee's THE ICE STORM is actually a very well acted slice of Americana - that is, Americana in its suburban Connecticut, upper-middle class mid 70s incarnation. Not an epic story, with a complex plot, this movie is more what I would call a mood piece. And the predominant mood is one of sadness and pathos, as those depicted here continuously fail to connect with one another on anything but the most superficial levels. Now one might ask: is this reality? Is this an accurate characterization of a sudden shift in the culture at this time. Well, no, not really. of course, this is drama, right, not anthropology and the director, actors and writer are entitled to poetic license. Here this license is put to good effect.
The other key point here is that the narrator is a juvenile, and he has a bit of Holden Caulfield in him (just a bit, that is). In other words, he feels disconnected from the adult world in, in normal adolescent ways, ways he doesn't fully understand. The movie plays off of this theme of the disconnect between children and adults; my favorite instance of this was Janey's (Sigourney Weaver) ludicrous pseudo-intellectual utterances while chastising of Wendy (Christina Ricci) for having just more or less terrified her young son Sandy by leading him in a game of doctor. In depicting a world of those who are young and psychologically adrift, in spite of seemingly having all the privileges one could possibly want, it captures something quite real. Having grown up in the same era, I can also say there were some subtle moments here which felt quite real.
I would rate this rather high, then: 9 out of 10, particularly for some wonderful performances by Weaver, Allen, Ricci and Wood
The other key point here is that the narrator is a juvenile, and he has a bit of Holden Caulfield in him (just a bit, that is). In other words, he feels disconnected from the adult world in, in normal adolescent ways, ways he doesn't fully understand. The movie plays off of this theme of the disconnect between children and adults; my favorite instance of this was Janey's (Sigourney Weaver) ludicrous pseudo-intellectual utterances while chastising of Wendy (Christina Ricci) for having just more or less terrified her young son Sandy by leading him in a game of doctor. In depicting a world of those who are young and psychologically adrift, in spite of seemingly having all the privileges one could possibly want, it captures something quite real. Having grown up in the same era, I can also say there were some subtle moments here which felt quite real.
I would rate this rather high, then: 9 out of 10, particularly for some wonderful performances by Weaver, Allen, Ricci and Wood