The Iceman

WARNING: This review is hidden because it reveals the content of the film.
Click here to show this review. Never mind the true story the film is based on, the performances in “The Iceman” alone are reason enough to see the film. In this crime thriller, Michael Shannon plays Richard Kuklinski, a man who’s married (Winona Ryder plays his wife Deborah) and has two beautiful daughters. They are completely unaware that he is a ruthless assassin for the mob and has been for years. The film follows the man’s life from the beginning of his employment to the mob in the 1960’s until his death in 2006.

A word ahead of time, I’m basing my review solely on the film, not having done any research on the real-life person. If there are facts in the film that have been fudged, so be it. I’m talking about Richard Kuklinski as portrayed in this movie. That said the fascinating part of this film is Kuklinski himself. You get only limited glimpses into his past, but here’s what you know: he’s got a brother that’s in prison for life, a history of violence (and perhaps even murder) and he had an abusive father. What I liked is that even though you follow the man for a significant part of his life (minus a few jumps in time) you’re still left wondering who he is, but in a good way. The reason why they call him “The Iceman” is because of the way he froze dead bodies to throw off police investigations, but that nickname could have been used to describe his personality. The man is absolutely ruthless. He will kill anyone in the blink of an eye in a way that’s almost reckless. It’s as if he has no sense of self-preservation or control, except for when it comes to his family. One thing I hate above all when it comes to movies about killers is when they come up with a lame explanation about what makes them able to kill. I think back at Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” and how it did absolutely everything wrong because it over explained everything. Here, you get just enough to feel like you can kind of get close to the key, but not so close that you would be comfortable around him. That’s the way to do it.

Another element that I really enjoyed is the strange relationship that Kuklinski has with his family. Throughout the film, he insists many times that he does not care about anything aside from his wife and daughters. This man was not a serial killer because killing didn’t seem to particularly excite him and it was not to get any form of attention, it’s just that he was good at murder and since it didn’t affect him emotionally at all, he just kept doing it. He is a strange paradox in the sense that on the one hand, he wants to have a normal life with a family and a house and in a way I feel like he would have wanted to have quiet life running or being employed at a regular place of legitimate business but he refuses to do anything but high-paying jobs that include murder. Because of his enigmatic nature and a fantastic performance from Michael Shannon, you are compelled to keep watching, even as you become disgusted by the man.

This is a solid film filled with top-notch performances. Winona Ryder does well in the role of Kuklinski’s wife, a mousy woman that falls in love with him and never suspects what her husband actually does for a living. Ray Liotta plays a mob boss, a role he’s familiar with but is always compelling in. Probably the biggest surprise in the film is Chris Evans, whose character I don’t want to talk about too much because it would be spoiling things, but the actor is nearly unrecognizable in the role. I found it very interesting, once the film was over to compare his character to Michael Shannon’s, particularly towards the end. Did he think of Kuklinsi as a friend? Did he think they might be kindred spirits?

Long after the film ended, the “hero” of this picture will stick with you and you’ll want to discuss it with a friend. It’s a little frustrating that the film feels like such a tiny glimpse in a rather infamous career (apparently there were at least a hundred murders committed by Kuklinski) but for the performances and the fascinating, if incomplete slice of life that we get here I wholeheartedly recommend you catch “The Iceman”. (On Blu-ray, January 29, 2014)