Review of The Ice Storm

I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes take for granted the fact that I am part of a loving, functional family. My parents have never been in a fight and have always been there for me in every sense of the word. This being the case I think I sometimes forget how many people actually live in a home similar to the family represented in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. The film revolves around the life of the Hoods, in which the father (Kevin Kline) is having an affair, the mother (Joan Allen) suffers from boredom and depression, and the children (Christina Ricci and Tobey Maguire) dread being at home for Thanksgiving. The whole family is ready to erupt when the holidays arrive, yet one dreadful accident is able to make the group realize the importance of sticking together. Though this film's message is powerful, it is missing scenes of influence to separate it from any other family dramas. Overall, a film like this does make you realize how lucky you are because of the problems all the characters are facing onscreen. However, looking back I can't think of any scenes that were particularly memorable. I think the setback with this film is that the characters are simply boring despite the problems they have. The only thing that makes any of them interesting is the fact that they can't stand being in the same room with their own flesh and blood. So despite the powerful message, this film could have been so much better with clever writing and interesting characters.

RATING: 2.6/5