The Ice Storm is set in 1973 in New Canaan, Connecticut. In
looking back, director Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility), working from Rich Moody’s novel, conjures up a miserable time. Nixon is going down, the hairstyles and clothing are ugly, and the mood
of the period is one of distracted dissatisfaction.
In the center of the film are two families: the Hoods and their
neighbors, the Carvers. Ben Hood (Kevin Kline) is having an affair with the chilly Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver). Ben’s wife Elena (Joan Allen) tries to make up
whatever’s missing in her life by acting impulsively. The
Hoods’ daughter Wendy (Christina Ricci) explores her
newfound sexuality by behaving improperly with both of the
Carvers’ sons, Mikey (Elijah Wood) and Sandy (Adam
Hann-Byrd).
Within all this malaise, something has got to give. On the day
after Thanksgiving, as an ice storm approaches, the elder Hoods
and Carvers head to a wife-swapping party. Wendy makes her way to
the Carvers’, and Mikey goes outdoors to explore. The events
that follow are tragic and inevitable.
Lee has made, with his solid ensemble cast, a deeply affecting
movie in The Ice Storm. The characters are wallowing in their own
problems; each one is too wrapped up in his own situation to
properly tend to the others. Each is trying to get some sort of
fulfillment, but the choices that are made are all destructive.
There is no real moral to what happens. It just is, and
that’s why The Ice Storm sticks to you long after
you’ve left the theatre.
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