The Iceman (2013)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Read Phillip Carlo's book and you'll realise just how good this movie could have been. It glossed over some of the most macabre and fascinating things Kuklinski did (or claimed he did). That being said Michael Shannon was well cast in the title role.

I was completely unfamiliar with the story of Richard Kuklinski, but was attracted to the movie by the compelling true story that served as the description of the movie. In "The Iceman, we're given a look at Kuklinski's life. Played here by Michael Shannon, Kuklinksi was an ice cold (thus, along with freezing his victims, his nickname and the name of the film) contract killer who over the course of his life murdered perhaps as many as 200 people - possibly even more. The movie gives us a taste of his "career" as a serial killer, along with a look at his home life with his wife (played by Winona Ryder) and two daughters. The most interesting part of the movie (and the real story of his life) is the way he essentially compartmentalized the two parts of his life, to the extent that his family (while they may have had some suspicions that he was involved in crime) never knew that he was a contract killer. It was interesting watching that aspect of his life, interspersed with some of his experiences with various mob figures. And I'd say that the performances of both Shannon and Ryder were pretty good. But I felt that the movie itself could have been better; could have accomplished more; could have given us more of a feel for Kuklinski's life. Instead, it seemed rushed and disjointed. There wasn't enough depth given to Kuklinski, and the result was that the movie, while interesting, was also at times confusing. It was hard to make the connections from one scene to the next. Sometimes it seemed as if years had elapsed between scenes. At times, this seemed more like a series of vignettes of Kuklinski's life rather than a well developed account of how he became who he was. I certainly wanted to see it through to the end - there was never any sense that I had wasted my time by watching it. But it wasn't entirely satisfying, either.And having researched a bit about Kuklinski I wondered why they makers of the movie felt the need to take such great liberties with the "family" side of the story. I can understand why they would change the names of his wife and daughters - but a lot was off in the timing. I do't remember any mention of him having been married before. In the movie there were only two daughters - but there was also a son. And the movie strangely claimed that after he was finally arrested and sent to prison, he never saw his family again - which wasn't true. There were phone calls, and there were some visits (and in fact his wife and one daughter visited him in the prison hospital shortly before he died.) Was there a feeling that the made up story would make this a more interesting movie? It didn't. Once I found out the truth, it just seemed like a strange decision.It was a decent movie, and it inspired me to want to find out more about Kuklinski's story. So it deserves some credit for that. (6/10)

The distribution team and the creative team behind The Iceman must have had different views on what the film was. The distributors must have seen a more prestige picture, hence the Venice and Toronto festival screenings along with a limited theatrical release. The creators, on the other hand, saw this as a mid-level gangster-thriller that was more for general audiences than festival crowds. This difference probably led to the film following into obscurity quickly. A silver lining to that previous statement is that this film could now be considered a hidden gem for fans of straight-forward entertaining gangster films. The film tells the violent middle life of Richard Kuklinski aka "The Iceman"(Michael Shannon), a hitman for the mob who is estimated to have killed between 100-250 people in New York from the 60s to 80s. Richard is a devoted family man, especially to his loyal wife Deborah (Winona Ryder). He never lets his family know what he really does, hiding the truth behind lies about working for banks and dubbing Disney films. Richard is good at what he does, which initially leads him to work for mob boss Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta). After years of working for Demeo, Richard is forced out and teams up with fellow hitman "Mr. Freezy" (Chris Evans). Together they make a great pair as Richard does the hits and Freezy dumps the bodies. Eventually, Richard's job takes hold of his life, turning everything he loves upside down and against him.The Iceman never presents itself as a prestige gangster film like Goodfellas. The director and crew know they are making an ordinary film that is purely for entertainment. However, just because this is for entertainment doesn't mean it's is perfect. The overall plot is handled rather poorly as some characters don't get enough time to make themselves unique. Ray Liotta's storyline is never completed and is left on a bad note. James Franco pops up for about three minutes in a subplot that feels too forced into revealing Richard's motivations. The Iceman is also strife with historical inaccuracies. Liberties must be taken when adapting real life, but this film takes it a step too far. Richard's true past and violent relationship with his wife are scrubbed for a version that is more cinematically useable. Anybody familiar with the real story of Kuklinski will most likely not enjoy this film.The camera work by Bobby Bukowski gives the film a documentary look. Even though this is a biopic, we never get that feeling. Darkness is always on the edge of the frame as we watch every moment with constant fear. Tension is always present as each character is always in danger of being killed.Michael Shannon is brilliant again as one of America's most infamous killers. Shannon uses his natural psychotic looks to blend in perfectly. He also uses his rage and stone cold face to create a feeling of fear and mystery around Richard. Winona Ryder gives one of her better performances as the oblivious wife that cares too much. She's in over her head, but she doesn't realize it until it's too late. Chris Evans is almost unrecognizable behind long hair and facial hair. He does an acceptable job as a killer that gets almost too much pleasure from his work.Finally, Ray Liotta keeps his streak of supporting roles going. He just does an alright job as he plays the stereotypical mob boss. He doesn't add anything new and mostly spouts the same lines we've heard in every other gangster film.If you're coming into this film expecting a high-grade gangster film, you're going to be disappointed. This film is for the audience that enjoys linear action and straightforward storytelling. Boasting one of Michael Shannon's best performances, The Iceman is an acceptable and entertaining film that doesn't take itself, or history, too seriously.

I had heard about this film many times a year or so after its release, specifically how good it was meant to be, and I later found out it was based on real events, so I was looking forward to sitting down and watching it. Basically set in the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) dates and marries Deborah Pellicotti (Winona Ryder), they have two daughters, but everything is not ordinary, Richard is very secretive to his family. Deborah thinks that Richard dubs Disney cartoons, in fact he works as a lab technician for porn films, supplied to a mob operated syndicate, he later changes career when his bosses, including the powerful Roy Demeo (Ray Liotta) persuade him to become a contract killer. Richard, who had been the victim of beatings from his immigrant Polish father as a child, is emotionally disturbed and intensely violent, he easily passes his test to kill an unknown homeless man and proving his lack of feeling whilst killing. Over the years Richard spends as a contract killer he gains a reputation for his cold-blooded professionalism, while his family is kept in the dark about his true career, but mob politics force him to go independent, working secretly with psychopathic Robert "Mr. Freezy" Pronge (Chris Evans). Richard earns the nickname "Iceman", for his method of freezing a victim to mask the time of death, but he finds it very difficult to separate his professional and family lives, circumstances and his own weaknesses threaten them to collide and there follow consequences. In the end, Richard Kuklinski is arrested in the year 1986, following an undercover sting operation, neither his wife Deborah nor his daughters ever suspected he was a cold-blooded killer, he admitted to over 100 vicious murders in his 22-year career, he never saw his family again after being sentenced to two life terms, he died under suspicious circumstances in prison in 2006. Also starring James Franco as Marty Freeman, David Schwimmer as Josh Rosenthal, Robert Davi as Leonard Merks, Stephen Dorff as Joey Kuklinski and Erin Cummings as Ellen. This film ultimately belongs to Shannon, who gives a compelling as the psychopathic monster posing as an average family man, the murderer behind the human, there is good support from Ryder, Liotta, Evans and the others, it is almost a traditional mob movie premise, with strong moments of violence, it may slightly slow in places, but there are flourishes of style, and overall it is a good biographical crime thriller. Worth watching!