From beginning to end, “The Ice Storm” felt like a profoundly moving, socially important film. The only problem I had was that I was not profoundly moved by it, and I never really found the social importance.
Now, that sounds horribly sarcastic and mean-spirited, and I don’t want to sound that way. But it’s true. Ang Lee, acclaimed director known for his work on 1996’s big screen soap opera “Sense and Sensibility,” presents “The Ice Storm” very heavy-handedly, as if each line was of immense importance to the human race, when in fact there wasn’t that much there.
While it was easy not to be impressed by this film, I find it hard to criticize. Nearly all of the parts are well-played, and it seems like the script is on the right track, as well. But somehow, something is missing.
“The Ice Storm” takes place in the midst of the so-called “suburban sexual revolution” - the time when certain taboos went away, and drugs had become a pervasive part of everyday life.
The storyline centers on one supposedly happy New Canaan, Connecticut, family. Dad is Kevin Kline, a seemingly successful businessman, pleased because his marriage is no longer in counseling, and his kids are out of trouble. Perhaps he is most happy because he is sleeping with a good-looking neighbor, played by Sigourney Weaver.
Mom is Joan Allen, the Academy’s favorite supporting actress nominee (for “Nixon” and “The Crucible” in ‘95 and ‘96, respectively). She seems happy too, until she finds out about the affair, and is caught sneaking makeup from the neighborhood drugstore.
But the real story is about the kids - the characters most affected by the changing times. Tobey Maguire is the elder son, sixteen and off at boarding school, trying desperately to lose his virginity and testing every drug that finds its way into his dorm.
And Christina Ricci is the fourteen year old daughter, already exploring her sexuality with quasi-boyfriend Elijah Wood, until they’re literally caught with their pants down.
Perhaps there is so much going on in this film that not enough attention is granted any part of it. The kids are supposed to be the focus - they are the betrayed ones, the forgotten generation, left to find their own way in the world. Unfortunately, half of the film is not enough time to display this, either.
As I said earlier, “The Ice Storm” is a hard movie to criticize. It is wonderfully made, and easy to watch. But the lingering effect of the movies that we have come to consider the “best” - “Forrest Gump,” “The English Patient,” even “Pulp Fiction” - are thought of that way because we leave the theater with plenty to think about - not plenty to sort our way through.
Grade: C