The Iceman (film)

For the 1984 science fiction film, see Iceman (1984 film).
The Iceman

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ariel Vromen
Produced by Ariel Vromen
Ehud Bleiberg
Avi Lerner
Screenplay by Ariel Vromen
Morgan Land
Based on The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer
by Philip Carlo
Starring Michael Shannon
Winona Ryder
James Franco
Ray Liotta
Chris Evans
Music by Haim Mazar
Cinematography Bobby Bukowski
Edited by Danny Rafic
Production
company
Bleiberg Entertainment
Rabbit Bandini Productions
Distributed by Millennium Entertainment
Release dates
  • August 30, 2012 (2012-08-30) (Venice)
  • May 3, 2013 (2013-05-03) (United States)
Running time
 105 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $10 million
Box office $4.4 million[2][3]

The Iceman is an American biography crime thriller film based on the true story of longtime notorious hitman Richard Kuklinski. Released in 2012 at the Venice Film Festival, the film was directed by Ariel Vromen, and stars Michael Shannon as Kuklinski, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, and Ray Liotta.

The Iceman showed at the 2012 Telluride Film Festival[4] and the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival before receiving a limited release in cinemas in the United States on May 3, 2013. It expanded into more cinemas in the USA on May 17. It was released to DVD on September 3.

Plot

In the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) marries Deborah (Winona Ryder) and the couple have two daughters. Kuklinski keeps secrets from his family. He works dubbing pornographic films which he then supplies to a mob operated syndicate, but he tells his family that he dubs Disney cartoons. Kuklinski is also deeply troubled. The subject of brutal beatings he received as a boy from his immigrant Polish father, Kuklinski is an emotionally disturbed and intensely violent man. In one instance a man insults him after a game of pool. Kuklinski follows the man to his car and murders him by quickly slashing his throat.

Another secret Kuklinski keeps is his younger brother Joseph (Stephen Dorff) is serving a life sentence for raping and murdering a twelve-year-old girl. Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta), a powerful mob boss, shuts down the pornographic film business in which Kuklinski was involved and brings him on board to work as a contract killer after Kuklinski passes an impromptu audition which was killing a homeless man with Roy's gun.

During the killing of Marty Freeman (James Franco) for using DeMeo's name too freely in his business dealings, Kuklinski meets Robert Pronge (Chris Evans), another hitman for the mob. After DeMeo puts Kuklinski on suspension for allowing a teenage girl to live after witnessing a hit (Kuklinski reveals that he never kills children), he teams up with Pronge, who is a freelancer, and splits the contract payments with him in return for helping him on contract assassinations for DeMeo's boss Leo Marks (Robert Davi). During his suspension, Kuklinski began to show more of his anger and rage to the point of destroying his own kitchen while having an argument with his wife Deborah. Kuklinski also showed paranoia when he looked onto a moving ice cream truck and instantly thought of Pronge, while distracted Kuklinski crashed his car into another vehicle, with his family still being in the car. The man who was injured got out of the car and insulted Kuklinski and his family, which causes Kuklinski to enter such a raging fit that he then performs a high speed chase after the man through three neighborhoods, almost killing his family in the car as a result.

DeMeo eventually finds out about all of this unauthorized employment after Kuklinski murders one of his associates on Leo's orders, and threatens Kuklinski at the same time that he severs all ties with him. Meanwhile, Kuklinski attempts to collect his $50,000 pay for the hit from Leo, but is denied the payment, prompting him to kill the mobster when he threatens his family. After a while, Kuklinski's daughter is seriously injured by a hit-and-run car accident. Kuklinski suspects Pronge and shoots him in a public park.

Following an undercover sting operation, Kuklinski is arrested in the year 1986. Neither his wife nor his daughters had ever suspected him of being a cold-blooded killer. Kuklinski admitted to having committed over 100 vicious murders, both for personal reasons and for profit, in his 22-year career. After being sentenced to two life terms in prison he never saw his wife and daughters again. (In real life, Barabara and his daughters visited him in hospital shortly before he died) As the movie ends, Kuklinski's only regret was hurting his family for the sins that he did and the dangers he put his family in. In 2006, he died in a prison hospital, from a rare inflammatory disease, just before he was to testify against a Gambino crime family underboss.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Los Angeles, California, New York City and Shreveport, Louisiana.[7] Shannon's portrayal of Kuklinski includes the authentic voice Kuklinski had, as evidenced by his interviews with HBO in their 1993 documentary Conversations with a Killer.[8]

Release

Davi, Dorff, and Shannon promoting the film at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival

The Iceman screened out of competition at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in August 2012.[9] The film screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in September that year.[10] It was released in the United States on May 3, 2013.[11]

Critical reception

The Iceman currently has a score of 66% on Rotten Tomatoes.[12]

Tomas Hachard of Slant Magazine gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars.[13] Meanwhile, Ben Kenigsberg of The A.V. Club gave the film a C+ rating.[14] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that "the film's chief asset is without question its performances."[15] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as "Zodiac meets Goodfellas".[16] Larushka Ivan-Zadeh of Metro also gave it 3 out of 5 stars.[17] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune gave it 3 out of 4 stars, commenting that the film is "sleek, purposeful and extremely well acted".[18] Oliver Lyttelton gave the film a C rating.[19] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B- rating.[20] Betsy Sharkey of Los Angeles Times criticized the film. "The great failing of The Iceman is not in giving us a monster, but in not making us care", she wrote.[21] Jason Gorber of Twitch Film wrote: "Like a stiff mixed drink that doesn't live up to the quality of its ingredients, The Iceman proves to be an unpalatable, underwhelming crime drama."[22]

References

  1. ↑ "THE ICEMAN (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 2013-04-05. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
  2. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=iceman2013.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=iceman2013.htm
  4. ↑ "39th Telluride Film Festival Program guide" (PDF).
  5. 1 2 Newman, Nick (2011-01-21). "Shannon, Franco and Del Toro to Star in ‘The Iceman’". TheFilmStage.com. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  6. ↑ Fleming, Mike (2011-11-21). "Chris Evans Replacing James Franco In 'The Iceman'". "Deadline.com". Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  7. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1491044/?ref_=sr_1
  8. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/Reviews/
  9. ↑ "Venice Film Festival 2012: Michael Shannon chills in "The Iceman"". CBS News. August 30, 2012.
  10. ↑ Barnard, Linda (May 16, 2013). "Opposites Attract for Chris Evans in The Iceman". Star.
  11. ↑ Ridley, Jane (May 3, 2013). "Meet the undercover cop who brought 'The Iceman' to justice". New York Post.
  12. ↑ The Iceman at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved September 22, 2014
  13. ↑ Hachard, Tomas (April 29, 2013). "The Iceman - Film Review". Slant Magazine.
  14. ↑ Kenigsberg, Ben (May 2, 2013). "The Iceman - Film - Movie Review". The A.V. Club.
  15. ↑ Rooney, David (August 30, 2012). "The Iceman: Venice Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (August 30, 2012). "The Iceman – review". The Guardian.
  17. ↑ Ivan-Zadeh, Larushka (June 7, 2013). "The Iceman: Michael Shannon shines in his killer role". Metro.
  18. ↑ Phillips, Michael (May 16, 2013). "As a hit man, 'Iceman' a model of productivity". Chicago Tribune.
  19. ↑ Lyttelton, Oliver (August 30, 2012). "Venice Review: Michael Shannon Vehicle 'The Iceman' Is A Tired Take On The Mob Flick". IndieWire.
  20. ↑ Nashawaty, Chris (May 9, 2013). "The Iceman (2013)". Entertainment Weekly.
  21. ↑ Sharkey, Betsy (May 2, 2013). "Review: 'The Iceman' can't heat up, even with Michael Shannon". Los Angeles Times.
  22. ↑ Gorber, Jason (September 20, 2012). "TIFF 2012 Review: The Iceman". Twitch Film.

External links

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