In the wake of the Watergate scandal and the waning Vietnam War, a Connecticut family reunites for Thanksgiving while simultaneously pulling away from each other for private indiscretions. While the characters play in moral shades of gray — drugs, adultery, petty crimes, and sexual experimentation included– the namesake storm arrives, causing a tragedy that puts things in perspective. Based on the book by Rick Moody and directed by two-time Oscar-winner Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi), The Ice Storm is a very well-acted and superbly crafted piece about personal rebellion and the ties that bind.
Ian Holm gives a career highlight performance in this Atom Egoyan adaptation of Russell Banks’ novel. Holm plays a lawyer who travels to a snowy, rural town to incite a lawsuit after a bus crash robs the community of its children. Naturally, no one trusts Holm at first, but the more he digs, the more secrets are uncovered, and the more the community unravels.
