[attach id=265793 size="medium"]Michael Shannon is a cold-blooded murderer in The Iceman.[/attach]
The Iceman (2012)
Certified: 16
Duration: 105 minutes
Directed by: Ariel Vromen
Starring: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, James Franco, David Schwimmer, Stephen Dorff, Erin Cummings, Robert Davi, Weronika Rosati, John Ventimiglia, Christa Campbell
KRS release
The Iceman is a small-budget but very effective picture. It tells the story of Richard Kuklinski, known as The Iceman, a contract killer behind a long list of murders to which he ended up confessing.
There are many who debate whether he really carried out all those killings. But even if one deems some events exaggerated, it remains a fact that Kuklinski was a psychopath with two faces: on one hand, he was an impeccable family man, and on the other, a heartless killer.
Apart from the superlative Shannon, praise is also due to Liotta
Ariel Vromen’s powerful film is not that much concerned with what is true or not; Vromen prefers to delve into the atmosphere, mind and company of this killer and leave his audience fascinated by the trip and yet also disturbed.
The director is lucky to have Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) playing the titular role. He has an intense screen presence that makes it very difficult for us to turn our eyes away from what is happening on screen. His coldness and calmness are bewitching.
At the start of the film we see Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) trying to get Deborah (Winona Ryder) into a relationship while he works for the Mob. That is when he catches the attention of Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta), a mob boss who gives him the chance of a lifetime: he orders him to shoot a homeless man.
This gets him into the killing-for-money business. Kuklinski eventually marries Deborah and he makes up a story about how he makes his money. He seems to be a model, middle-class, married man with a wife and children, while at the same time he becomes a star of his profession.
However, problems crop up when he leaves a witness to a murder alive. This brings him into trouble with Roy and his income slows down. So he teams up with another hired gun, Bob (Chris Evans), who is nicknamed Mr Freezy, drives an ice cream truck and places his victims on ice before cutting them into pieces.
The two get contracts from the Mob and Kuklinski’s family ends up in danger.
Apart from the superlative Shannon, praise is also due to Liotta who brings another mafioso to the screen in a convincing fashion. Schwimmer, of Friends fame, is here a big surprise and Evans as Mr Freezy is the antithesis of his heroic Captain America role. Meanwhile, Ryder shows that maybe it’s high time for her to be taken seriously again.
All in all, this cinematic outing will leave one shocked and cold as this is a case of reality being more hard-hitting than fiction.