The Ice Harvest (2005)

Director: Harold Ramis
Format: DVD
DVD Features: alternate endings, featurettes, commentary, outtakes
Starring: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Nielsen
Trailer

As I looked over the description on the sleeve of The Ice Harvest, my heart sank a little when I read the words “…Harold Ramis’s outlandish holiday thriller.” Outlandish can be alright sometimes. Thriller is usually a good bet. But, holiday?! You see, I’m not fond of holiday movies at all, not when “holiday” means Christmas. Seeing as how I’m not fond of Christmas, unless there’s mass murder involved, I don’t appreciate the holiday interfering with my movie enjoyment. Naturally, there are a few exceptions. A Christmas Story is rather amusing, especially because it’s so dysfunctional.

The Ice Harvest takes place in Wichita Falls, Kansas. It’s wintertime (hence the word "ice" in the title). Charlie (John Cusack) is a mob lawyer who has a plan, but not the guts to follow it through. Vic (Billy Bob Thornton) is his partner, who has the guts but not the brains. After sneaking away from Charlie’s boss with two million bucks, the two of them plan to spend the night in town, acting casual, and then fly out nice and easy the next day. But, one night turns out to hold a lot of surprises. And by the end of that same night, Charlie proves to have more guts and Vic proves to have more brains than anyone thought.

As is characteristic of his recent persona, John Cusack plays the role of Charlie with a mostly calm and collected sort of cynicism. Although he is a bit of a nervous character at times, he holds steady through this caper. His lack of panic during the most stressful of situations is pretty much the only outstanding trait Charlie has. Billy Bob Thornton plays a creepy, suspicious character much better than he has ever played a fine, upstanding citizen. I think it’s his shifty eyes that give him away. One of the most simple, but enjoyable characters in The Ice Harvest is Renata, played by Connie Nielsen. She is the sultry club owner and target of Charlie’s affection. Or, rather, lust. She got a smooth, deep voice, bright red lipstick, a killer figure, and the word “danger” written all over her. Renata may have been more at home in a Bogart murder mystery. Nielsen practically steals the show from Cusack and Thornton.

It is difficult for me to decide on who I think must hate Kansas more – the people who live there or the people who wisely stay away. The entire landscape is bleak, rainy, and frigid. Only the indoor scenes hold any warmth or interesting décor. All of the main characters in the film hold a strong desire to escape Wichita Falls. Even though Charlie and Vic are looking to run from the man they robbed, the whole reason for grabbing the cash in the first place is to leave town. If it hadn’t been a hundred degrees outside, I may have welcomed the warmth of the indoor scenes. Practically every room held something warm, from lighted holiday figurines, to windows draped in red. The inside of Charlie’s former home, now that of his friend Pete, was decorated in steel and blue glow and even that seemed toasty in comparison to the weather outside.


The word “Christmas” in this movie’s description turned out to be a non-concern. Amidst the lighted trees and reindeer, so much foul spirited activity abounds it is easy to forget that the holiday is looming. So, I was relieved of that at least. But even despite the good work of the actors involved, The Ice Harvest lacked any real hook. I didn’t find myself routing for the hero (or anti-hero) or tense during any of the action. I basically didn’t care and I wasn’t so concerned about how the whole thing would turn out. It was truly as mediocre as the Kansas landscape.

Overall Rating: 2
Hottie Rating: 3 (Renata smokes up the screen)

Alternate Viewing: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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Boston.com review

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