Lately I've been using the Criterion Collection to guide my less than frequent forays into forgotten cinema. Browsing through lists and lists of honored films The Ice Storm seemed worthy of my attention.This is a character driven film depicting two neighboring families and the complex conflicts of marriage and infidelity, of youth and sexual confusion. The film is wonderfully scripted and acted although I can definitely understand why it didn't get much attention in the theaters. The story is dense with conflict, but there are hardly any resolutions. There's not a single moment where the viewer is instilled with hope, with the feeling that everything is going to be OK. Rather all of the conflicts pile up, one on top of another, until the town is blanketed in ice by a passing storm. This might not seem like an important detail for a story about emotional conflict and fragility but the way it's presented and the way each character reacts to it is ultimately nothing short of beautiful story-telling.
5/5
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