The Ice Storm
Director: Ang Lee
Year Released: 1997
Rating: 2.5
Rick Moody may be 'the worst writer of his generation' (according to Dale Peck) but this film, based on his novel, is basically okay, if (ironically) transparent. Survey of sexual mores during the Nixon years shows young-ins fooling around in the bathroom when Mom and Dad aren't home, parents cheating on each other (openly or privately ... how 'bout some swinging!), teenagers fooling around (or messing with drugs) and everyone generally down-in-the-dumps sad with their empty lives. Humor is lacking and it's a woefully moral affair, but at least the performances are dead-on, like Sigourney Weaver's steely-eyed bitch and Joan Allen's shrill, sexless housewife (and Kevin Kline's breakdown to end the film is simply perfect).
