The Iceman
Rated R, 105 minutes
Years ago, I remember watching a news special (maybe it was 60
Minutes?) about the mob killer Richard Kuklinski, also known as the iceman for
his ruthlessness and icy demeanor. The stories of his killings were shocking
and his ability to switch from killer to family man unnoticed, was unsettling.
Basically it was a story ripe for a movie and “The Iceman” totally delivers.
Michael
Shannon once again commands the screen as Kuklinski, a mild mannered family
man, who also moonlights as a contract killer. Shannon is a force, using just a
simple look to convey fear and he becomes the psychotic killer. He leads the
film, but a very good supporting cast backs him up including Winona Ryder as
Mrs Kuklinski, Ray Liotta as a mob boss, Chris Evans as a fellow contract
killer with an ice cream truck side job and David Schwimmer as a coked-out,
jump suit wearing mob solider. James Franco, Robert Davi and Stephen Dorff also
pop up in cameos.
Chris Evans as a ice cream man/contract killer
The film
unfolded a lot like another true tale of crime, the coke classic “Blow,” and I
highly enjoyed it. It’s a smaller budgeted film and probably won’t be seen by
many, but The Iceman deserves a much bigger audience. Hopefully, the millions
of people who will see the upcoming blockbuster “Man of Steel,” will be so
impressed with Shannon’s performance as ZOD, they‘ll seek out his other films
and stumble across this gem.
