Barnes & Noble

Sexual licentiousness and emotional frigidity exact a harrowing toll on the characters in The Ice Storm, an intelligent, sobering indictment of upper-middle-class suburban mores. Director Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) adapts Rick Moody's celebrated novel with laudable fidelity, deftly replicating both the early '70s period and the fashionable Connecticut setting. He immediately attunes viewers to the emotional freeze that has driven Ben Hood (Kevin Kline) away from his wife Elena (Joan Allen) and into the arms of a sexy neighbor Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver). Ben catches his 14-year-old daughter, Wendy (Christina Ricci), fooling around with Janey's son, Mikey (Elijah Wood), but his protests carry little weight -- for obvious reasons. Lee handles this potentially tawdry, sensational material in a sober, restrained manner, and he coaxes terrific performances from the entire cast. Kline, whose well-received comedic roles have sometimes obscured his talents as a serious dramatic actor, is simultaneously sympathetic and reprehensible as Ben, and Sigourney Weaver delineates the adulterous neighbor with bold, sweeping strokes. Their characters are easily recognizable, which is what makes The Ice Storm such a chilling commentary on middle-class values. The DVD includes a production featurette. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Set on Thanksgiving weekend of 1973, The Ice Storm looks into the lives of a wealthy Connecticut family who are calm and civil on the outside, but whose lives are quietly falling into chaos. Sixteen-year-old Paul Hood (Tobey Maguire) is home for the holidays from prep school; he'd just as soon have stayed at school, given the usual level of tension around the house and his desire to win the affections of Casey (Katie Holmes), a girl living in Manhattan. His 14-year-old sister, Wendy (Christina Ricci), is already a hardened cynic obsessed with the ongoing Watergate investigation, and she has begun acting out sexually with a neighbor boy, Mikey (Elijah Wood). Apparently, this runs in the family: Wendy's father, Ben (Kevin Kline), is having an affair with Mikey's mother, Janey (Sigourney Weaver), though Ben sees a future in the relationship and Janey does not. Elena (Joan Allen), Ben's wife, knows something is wrong with her marriage and her life, but she has no idea what she should do about it. As the teenagers surreptitiously experiment with drugs and alcohol, and the adults drift into mate-swapping, a dangerous blanket of freezing rain begins to cover New Canaan. The Ice Storm was adapted from the acclaimed novel by Rick Moody. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 715515028424
• Source: CRITERION
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Editions: Special Edition, Restored
• Time: 1:53:00
• Sales Rank: 5,883

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