The Iceman (film)

The Iceman is a 2012 American biographical crime film about 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.

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

The Iceman
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAriel Vromen
Produced byAriel Vromen
Ehud Bleiberg
Avi Lerner
Screenplay byAriel Vromen
Morgan Land
Based onThe Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer
by Anthony Bruno
StarringMichael Shannon
Winona Ryder
James Franco
Ray Liotta
Chris Evans
David Schwimmer
Robert Davi
Danny Abeckaser
Music byHaim Mazar
CinematographyBobby Bukowski
Edited byDanny Rafic
Production
company
Bleiberg Entertainment
Rabbit Bandini Productions
Distributed byMillennium Entertainment
Release date
  • August 30, 2012 (2012-08-30) (Venice)
  • May 3, 2013 (2013-05-03) (United States)
Running time
105 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$13.5 million[2]
Box office$4.6 million[3][4]

The Iceman showed at the 2012 Telluride Film Festival[5] 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. As a boy he was the subject of brutal beatings from his immigrant Polish father, shaping Kuklinski into an emotionally disturbed and intensely violent man. A man insults him after a game of pool so Kuklinski follows the man to his car and murders him by quickly slashing his throat.

Another secret Kuklinski keeps is that 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 mobster, 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: killing a homeless man with Roy's gun.

During the killing of Marty Freeman (James Franco) due to his knowledge of Josh Rosenthols' (David Schwimmer) whereabouts (who had been 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 begins to show more of his anger and rage, to the extent of destroying his own kitchen while having an argument with Deborah. Kuklinski also shows paranoia when he looks at a moving ice cream truck and instantly thinks of Pronge. While distracted, Kuklinski bumps his car into another vehicle, the man he hit gets out of his car and insults Kuklinski and his family. This causes Kuklinski to enter such a raging fit that he then initiates a high speed chase after the man through three neighborhoods, again putting his family in danger.

DeMeo eventually finds out about all of this unauthorized employment after Kuklinski murders one of his associates on Leo's orders, and at the same time demands that Kuklinski sever 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.

Kuklinski's daughter is later 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 have ever suspected him of being a cold-blooded killer. Kuklinski admits 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 sees his wife and daughters again. In real life, Barbara (Deborah's name in real life) visited him in prison for ten years, and she and his daughters visited him in hospital shortly before he died.[6]

As the movie ends, Kuklinski's only regret is hurting his family through the crimes he committed, and the dangers he put them in. In 2006, he dies in a prison hospital, from a rare inflammatory disease, just before he is to testify against a Gambino crime family underboss.[6]

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Los Angeles, California, New York City and Shreveport, Louisiana.[9] 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.

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.[10] The film screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in September that year.[11] It was released in the United States on May 3, 2013.[12] The film made $4.5 million during its theatrical run.[3][4]

Critical reception

The Iceman currently has a score of 67% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 125 reviews. The sites consensus reads: "While it deserved stronger direction and a more fully realized script, Michael Shannon's riveting performance in the title role is more than enough to make The Iceman recommended viewing."[13]

Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote that while the film is not "a great crime movie...it is an indelible film that clinches Mr. Shannon's status as a major screen actor."[14] Tomas Hachard of Slant Magazine gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars.[15] Meanwhile, Ben Kenigsberg of The A.V. Club gave the film a C+ rating.[16] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that "the film's chief asset is without question its performances."[17] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as "Zodiac meets Goodfellas".[18] Metro also gave it 3 out of 5 stars.[19] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune gave it 3 out of 4 stars, commenting that the film is "sleek, purposeful and extremely well acted".[20] Oliver Lyttelton gave the film a C rating.[21] Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B- rating.[22] 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.[23] 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."[24]

References
  1. "THE ICEMAN (15)". British Board of Film Classification. April 5, 2013. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  2. "Fastlane NextGen: Initial Certification Search" (Type "Iceman" in the search box). Louisiana Economic Development. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  3. "The Iceman Domestic". Box Office Mojo.
  4. "The Iceman By Country". Box Office Mojo.
  5. "39th Telluride Film Festival Program guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2013.
  6. Higgenbotham, Adam (July 7, 2013). "Married to The Iceman". The Telegraph. London, England: Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  7. Newman, Nick (2011-01-21). "Shannon, Franco and Del Toro to Star in ‘The Iceman’" Archived January 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. TheFilmStage.com. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
  8. Fleming, Mike (2011-11-21). "Chris Evans Replacing James Franco In 'The Iceman'". "Deadline.com". Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  9. IMDb
  10. "Venice Film Festival 2012: Michael Shannon chills in "The Iceman"". CBS News. August 30, 2012.
  11. Barnard, Linda (May 16, 2013). "Opposites Attract for Chris Evans in The Iceman". Star.
  12. Ridley, Jane (May 3, 2013). "Meet the undercover cop who brought 'The Iceman' to justice". New York Post.
  13. The Iceman at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved September 22, 2014
  14. Holden, Stephen (May 2, 2013). "'The Iceman,' With Michael Shannon as Richard Kuklinski". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  15. Hachard, Tomas (April 29, 2013). "The Iceman - Film Review". Slant Magazine.
  16. Kenigsberg, Ben (May 2, 2013). "The Iceman - Film - Movie Review". The A.V. Club.
  17. Rooney, David (August 30, 2012). "The Iceman: Venice Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  18. Bradshaw, Peter (August 30, 2012). "The Iceman – review". The Guardian.
  19. Ivan-Zadeh, Larushka (June 7, 2013). "The Iceman: Michael Shannon shines in his killer role". Metro.
  20. Phillips, Michael (May 16, 2013). "As a hit man, 'Iceman' a model of productivity". Chicago Tribune.
  21. Lyttelton, Oliver (August 30, 2012). "Venice Review: Michael Shannon Vehicle 'The Iceman' Is A Tired Take On The Mob Flick". IndieWire.
  22. Nashawaty, Chris (May 9, 2013). "The Iceman (2013)". Entertainment Weekly.
  23. Sharkey, Betsy (May 2, 2013). "Review: 'The Iceman' can't heat up, even with Michael Shannon". Los Angeles Times.
  24. Gorber, Jason (September 20, 2012). "TIFF 2012 Review: The Iceman". Twitch Film.
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