The Ice Storm

Ang Lee, 1997 (113 mins, Cert. 15)

Director Ang Lee follows his flawless adaptation of Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility with a poignant bittersweet comedy abourt a disintegrating family over a long, wintry Thanksgiving night in 1973. Starring Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver and Joan Allen, Lee's film beautifully dissects at a crucial moment in history (Nixon, defeat in Vietnam, and the energy crisis) one family's response to the American Dream.
(Barbican publicity)

No comedy this! Rather, it's an unrimittingly grim, close-up tale of two hopelessly dysfunctional families tangled up in each other and dragging each other down toward total disintegration. The acurately portrayed period setting doesn't provide any distancing or detachment. This is a very well made, very well acted film that grips the attention throughout but it's not exactly fun to watch, especially the unexpectedly cruel ending, and I wonder what one is supposed to take away from such a joyless and thouroughly depressing film.
(Steve Fagg)

Seen: Saturday, 14th February, 1998 (Barbican 2)