The Ice Storm

Thanksgiving weekend, 1973, two well-off families in Connecticut. The adults are cheating on each other, the children know, and nobody talks. In the middle of the weekend there is a key party and an ice storm. Ang Lee directed, from Rick Moody's 1994 novel. James Schamus wrote the screenplay and won Best Screenplay at Cannes for it. The cast is deep: Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Elijah Wood and Katie Holmes. Weaver won the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress. Shooting began in April 1996 in New Canaan and Westchester County. The ice storm was built largely with practical effects and digital help where needed. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 86 percent, with critics praising Lee's handling of seventies suburban malaise. The box office was modest: 8 million domestically and 8 million internationally against an 18 million budget. Who it is for: viewers who like cold, distanced family drama and portraits of seventies America. Who it is not for: anyone looking for warmth. The film grants none of its characters an easy pass, and the ending does not forgive.