The Iceman

The Iceman, the latest film by Ariel Vroman is the story of one of the most cold blooded killers of our generation, Richard Kuklinski. It is a fascinating movie, not just because of the subject matter but because of the performances and the look of the movie. It was a marvel to look at because the film does everything possible to take you back to the 1970's. It does an amazing job of that and because of that I give The Iceman three buckets of Killer Korn.





If you don't know about Richard Kuklinski aka The Iceman, this movie will educate you on one of the most feared and dangerous men to ever walk the earth. Playing the 6' 5" killer is the intimidating and talented Michael Shannon. Sadly Michael plays Richard all dark, there's nothing light about his portrayal, there's no charm which if you watched the documentary on Kuklinski you see he can be very charming, deadly but charming. Starring alongside Michael Shannon  is Winona Ryder who plays Deborah Pellicotti, Richard's wife, Chris Evans playing Mr. Freezy, Ray Liotta playing Roy Demeo, David Schwimmer playing Josh Rosenthal, Stephen Dorff playing Richard's brother Joey Kuklinksi, and Robert Davi who plays Leonard Marks. It's a very talented cast for a film where most of the budget was spent on acquiring the cars and the clothes of a decade long since gone.

The Iceman tells the story of the beginning of Richards career as a hitter for the mob right up to the end of him getting captured out in front of his house. In between those two moments is some engaging film making. With tales of grisly murders ripped straight from the documentary "The Iceman Interviews" and other sources detailing the home life of Richard, you come to see a man torn between the world he wants, family and home, and the world he needs, contract killing to pay for the family's needs. Richard was the doting father to his two daughters and the loving husband to Deborah, but when it was time to go to work, his face would darken and he would head out to kill and get paid. His work as a "currency exchanger" keeps Deborah and the kids in the dark about his activities outside the house but they expect there is more to the man they love than what he's letting on.

The problem with the film is the story, it's all over the place and it doesn't focus on one or two seminal events in Richard's life. Director Vroman with Morgan Land wrote the screenplay and it seemed like they wanted to squeeze in as much of Kuklinkski's actions as possible. While that's commendable it hurt the film in terms of a cohesive story line. The timeline bounces around in leaps and bounds and we the viewer are taken from one murder to another and the only time we realize how Richard's ambitions could hurt him is during his daughters birthday party. Ray Liotta's mob connected Roy Demeo, the man that gave Richard his start finds out Richard is doing freelance killings and that doesn't sit well. He threatens Richard's entire family and it's the one scene in the movie that actually feels frightening.

The lack of the cohesive story doesn't really hurt The Iceman though and that's basically because production designer Nathan Amondson did an Oscar worthy job of finding artifacts of the 70's. The cars, the clothes, the closet phone booths makes me wonder where he was able to find them all. It was a job well done and cinematographer Bubby Bukowski gives the film the look of one that was filmed back in the 70's. It has a grainy, dark, and and at times ominous look that shapes the mood. It's also shot many times as if we are the fly on the wall, eavesdropping on the characters and the choices they make and watching them pay the consequences of said choices. The music by Haim Mazar fits perfectly with the images on the screen, when Kuklinski is intimidating and murderous the music slowly builds but it's never overwhelming. And when he's home with his family, the score is subtle and tragic, the perfect blend for The Iceman.

This film is not for everyone, and unless you are a fan of Michael Shannon or Richard Kuklinski then you really might want to think about skipping this movie. I'm not a real fan of either man and yet I'm happy I saw The Iceman, it was worth the price of admission in my opinion. If you see it you won't be disappointed and I'll see you at the theater.