The Ice Storm (1997)

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:

Watergate Scandal | Teenage Girl | Infidelity | Desire | Spouse Swapping

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:

Argentina:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | 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:

Canal+ Droits Audiovisuels

Trivia:

To prepare for the film, Ang Lee let the cast members study stacks of magazine cutouts from the early 1970s.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: There is a six-wheeled G.I. Joe "armored personnel carrier" among the numerous toys in the Carver's rec-room. This plastic toy vehicle was not introduced by Hasbro until 1983, ten years after this film is set.

Quotes:

Janey Carver: A person's body is his temple.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Danny DeVito/R.E.M. (#25.8)" (1999)

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.