The lives, or at least the sex lives, of two small-town American families. "The Ice Storm" is Ang Lee's brilliant adaptation, with, as usual, a screenplay by James Schamus, of Rick Moody's novel. In the wider world, Watergate is happening but only the 14-year-old daughter of one of the families is interested. The parents are more interested in their infidelities and in stopping their children from screwing around while all the while the weather gets colder and wetter and more deadly.
This is the kind of smart, funny and adult film we don't see very often these days and, of course, it's brilliantly acted and not just by the older players, (a smug Kevin Kline, a wound-up Joan Allen, a sluttish Sigourney Weaver), but by the youngsters as well, (Christina Ricci showing real promise as well as Tobey Maguire and Elijah Wood). Amazingly, the film didn't receive a single Oscar nod though Weaver did win a BAFTA for her performance and it's still one of the best things Lee has done.
This is the kind of smart, funny and adult film we don't see very often these days and, of course, it's brilliantly acted and not just by the older players, (a smug Kevin Kline, a wound-up Joan Allen, a sluttish Sigourney Weaver), but by the youngsters as well, (Christina Ricci showing real promise as well as Tobey Maguire and Elijah Wood). Amazingly, the film didn't receive a single Oscar nod though Weaver did win a BAFTA for her performance and it's still one of the best things Lee has done.