Memorable, crazy movie

Absolutely Fantastic

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Probably because its style is so low-key, "The Ice Harvest" is one of those movies that doesn't arrive with any high expectations and so makes a big impact when you discover how good it actually is. Its plot about the complications that set in after a seemingly perfectly-executed heist, doesn't sound particularly original (and of course it isn't) but a group of totally untrustworthy characters, a series of neat twists and plenty of dark humour combine together to make this a movie that's hugely enjoyable from start to finish.On Christmas Eve in Wichita, Kansas, mob lawyer Charlie Arglist (John Cusack) and his partner-in-crime Vic Cavanaugh (Billy Bob Thornton) successfully relieve their employer of more than $2 million. Unfortunately, their employer is Kansas City crime boss Bill Guerrard (Randy Quaid) who very quickly recognises who was responsible for the theft and dispatches one of his henchmen, Roy Gelles (Mike Starr) to hunt them down. Charlie and Vic's plan to get out of Kansas immediately after the heist has to be put on hold when an ice storm suddenly envelops Wichita and the two men decide to split up until the road conditions improve.Charlie goes to a strip club called "The Sweet Cage" where he meets up with its sexy proprietor, Renata Crest (Connie Neilsen). He's infatuated by her and so when she tells him she wants to recover a photograph of a local councilman pictured in circumstances that could potentially cause him tremendous embarrassment, Charlie agrees to help out. He gets anxious when he twice sees a large man making enquiries about him and so, after recovering the photograph for Renata, goes to a restaurant to warn Vic who seems completely unconcerned. As he starts to leave the restaurant, a member of staff asks Charlie to take his friend Pete (Oliver Platt) home because he's extremely drunk.Pete is married to Charlie's ex-wife and so taking him home leads to an uncomfortable meeting with her, his children and her parents. Later, he takes the photograph to Renata at her club but then has to go on to help Vic when he finally recognises what danger he's in. A whole series of violent developments then follow.Charlie Arglist is an interesting character because his experiences in life have left him world-weary, disillusioned and cynical but despite this, his essential decency leads him into helping others, even when doing so is obviously not in his own best interest. John Cusack's expressions, demeanour and skill in delivering his witty dialogue are very effective in conveying his character's complexities in a way that's both understated and highly entertaining. Billy Bob Thornton and Connie Neilsen are both well-cast in their roles and Oliver Platt is outrageously funny as Charlie's friend who enjoys intoxication because it distracts him from the lack of respect and enjoyment that he derives from the rest of his life."The Ice Harvest" is well-paced, sleazy and often violent but its strongest elements are its interesting characters and its wonderful humour.

As this movie opens, our main character, Charlie (John Cusack) explains how he believes that it is possible to commit the perfect crime. In his opinion, all you need is to be the kind of person who would never commit a crime. This is the kind of circular logic that rules not only the film, but Charlie's life as well.Charlie has, in a monumentally out of character moment of courage, has just stolen two million dollars from his mob-boss employer. Now all he and his wonderfully droll partner, Vic (Billy Bob Thorton), have to do is go their separate ways and wait out the icy Kansas rain. Their plan is to meet up when the weather clears and head for the airport and parts unknown.Watching Charlie realize that he would be all but incapable of dealing with the normal perils of Christmas Eve, much less a Christmas Eve on which he has just committed an extraordinarily dangerous crime. He all but hangs a sign around his neck saying that he's leaving town. He wonders from one of his usual haunts to another being nice to people and trying to seduce the one woman he's lusted after for years, the lovely Renata (Connie Nielsen) who seems to manage a seedy strip club. He knows that his boss's chief hit-man is looking for him, but keeps going to familiar places none-the-less. He eventually hooks up with a friend, Pete (Oliver Platt), who is, perhaps, the only person in town who is both more drunk than Charlie and less equipped to deal with the miasma of holiday cheer in which they find themselves.While these events start out like a screwball comedy, the movie quickly descends into the morass of complications, lies, secret motivations, and murder that define film noir. It amazed me just how dark the movie became. It moves from scenes of incredible humor, such as Oliver Platt showing the kind of simultaneous recklessness and concern for his body that is endemic of drunks or Billy Bob Thorton and John Cusack discussing whether a Lincoln or a Mercedes is more suited to transporting a body, to scenes filled with an almost nausea-inducing sense of dread and despair. Despite all the wonderful performances and spot on dialogue, I think the aspect of this film that shines the most is it's ability to shift gears and tone so seamlessly without betraying it's characters and plot.I won't give away the ending, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention how perfect it is. The last scene of this movie proves that the filmmakers know the noir genre well enough to know exactly how they should end if they could end happily, though they can't.

Harold Ramis ("Groundhog Day") directing an dark humor film written by Richard Russo and Robert Benton ("Kramer vs. Kramer"), starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton? Really? "The Ice Harvest" sounds like an unusual gathering of talents but it perfectly works. The movie starts with Cusack's character, Charlie, an lawyer committing the perfect crime stealing millions of dollar along with his partner Vic (Thornton) during Christmas Eve. But for some reason they can't leave town to avoid people's suspicion, since everybody knows them, so they decide to stay in Wichita until things get easier for them to get out. Until such thing happen, Charlie will have to deal with an bizarre amount of problems such as follow along a drunk friend (hilariously played by Oliver Platt) who keep causing more and more trouble in all the places they go; help an old flame of his (Connie Nielsen), who's having some problems with an politician; smile to an persistent and annoying cop every time he appears on his front, suspicion of everything he does; and running away from a hit-man (Mike Starr) who's looking for him and Vic.Basically, it's a movie with Cusack trying to solve problems before putting his hands on the money and get out of Wichita. Until there, there's plenty room for funny and twisted moments, some dangerous as well and the repetitive "As Wichita falls so falls Wichita falls" quote, whatever that means. It seems at times the film is going nowhere with some humored situations here and there but when it moves to an darker film it gets really fun to watch. Best parts includes all the scenes Oliver Platt's in (specially seeing him being dragged out of the bar, or when he presents Charlie as being an Mafia lawyer, trying to threat an guy who was bothering him: "M.O.B. Mob!") and Billy Bob furious attack to the trunk where he put the hit-man trying to making him quiet (that was hysterical!). And this couldn't go on without Ned Bellamy playing Sidney the nervous bar patron, friend of Charlie, and his rants, threatening to break people's fingers when they mess with his girls. Not the perfect script but who cares? It's just fun and fun again and well made by the way. Simply one of the best Christmas films I've ever seen. 9/10

It is wrong to label The Ice Harvest as a Comedy, maybe that is what the studio wanted it to be. It has its funny bits, but The Ice Harvest is more of a neo-noir. Either way, it's watchable but not that enriching.There is nothing original or clever about this story, except for the paradox of the setting. The Ice Harvest is a cold, dark tale set during the most bright and jolly of times. Of course I am talking about Christmas. It is sort of difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes The Ice Harvest watchable when considering that the whole thing is pretty dull. Perhaps it is the fact that just occasionally the story does something random and amusing, but it never amounts to much.There is a certain dose of Fargo to the movie. When it begins in Witchita, Kansas on Chrismas Eve, locally renowned lawyer Charlie Arglist and his partner have stolen two and a half million dollars. Now it is just a matter of being patient for a few hours as they figure out how to blow town. In the middle of this is the archetypal 'femme fatale' played by Connie Neilson as the owner of a strip club who wants something from Charlie. I think The Ice Harvest acknowledges that it is derivative, which is why it tries to be amusing every now and then, but It is not half as funny as it should be. If you want a good crime movie with a better sense of humour, try Bandits.