The Ice Harvest (2005)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers (WGA):

Richard Russo (screenplay) &
Robert Benton (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

23 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Thick Thieves. Thin Ice.

Plot:

A shady lawyer attempts a Christmas Eve crime, hoping to swindle the local mob out of some money. But his partner, a strip club owner, might have different plans for the cash.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Christmas Eve | Strip Club | Kansas | Rain

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Cusack	...	Charlie
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Vic
Lara Phillips	...	Rusti
Bill Noble	...	Culligan
Brad Smith	...	Ronny
Ned Bellamy	...	Sidney
Connie Nielsen	...	Renata
Mike Starr	...	Roy Gelles
T.J. Jagodowski	...	Officer Tyler
Meghan Maureen McDonough	...	Francie
Tab Baker	...	Dennis
Frank Gallo	...	Restaurateur
William Dick	...	Manager
Oliver Platt	...	Pete
David Pasquesi	...	Councilman Williams

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and sexuality/nudity.

Runtime:

USA:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:18A (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia) | Norway:15 | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:12 | France:U | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Argentina:13 | Norway:11 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | USA:R (certificate #39360) | South Korea:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Carpentersvillle, Illinois, USA

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

‘The Sweet Cage’ is a defunct restaurant 'Harold Ramis (I)' and his family used to eat at when he was a kid. Its flatware and cutlery were used for the upscale restaurant where Vic was eating.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bill Guerrard is shown in Renata's office at first, his suit jacket is blue. But after getting shot in the face, he is seen on the floor and his suit jacket is black. Then when Bill Guerrard gets up after not being killed, his suit jacket is blue again.

Quotes:

Vic: He actually threatened to shoot Gladys if I did't tell him where the money was. But I think he was counting on a level of commitment and affection between her and me that just simply wasn't there.

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Pretty Little Thing

Disappointing Even for Fans of John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton (Like Me)

In Wichita, in the Christmas Eve, the coward and smart mob lawyer Charlie Arglist (John Cusack) associates to the small time crook pornographer Vic Cavanaugh (Billy Bob Thornton) and embezzles more than two million dollars of the powerful mobster Bill Guerrard (Randy Quaid). Charlie intends to runaway with his share bringing Renata (Connie Nielsen), who runs the Sweet Cage strip club. Along the long night, Charlie discloses secrets about Vic and Renata.

"The Ice Harvest" is a sort of blending of film-noir with black comedy that unfortunately does not work well in spite of having a great cast. The story is too short and not well developed, with the character of Oliver Platt, Pete, being unpleasant and miscast. Further, the plot is too serious for a dark comedy, and too silly for a film-noir, therefore it never works. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Sangue Frio" ("In Cold Blood")