I can't believe that Richard Russo and Robert Benton penned this screenplay. Maybe their script was much better than the final product. Because Harold Ramis completely botches this film, not knowing whether he wants to make a comedy, black comedy, straight noir or comedic noir. He tries them all and fails miserably.
I'm not averse to anti-holiday films. I rather enjoy them, if they're done well. But to compare "The Ice Harvest" to, say, "Bad Santa," is akin to comparing my stick-figure doodles to a Van Gogh.
The film never is able to strike the right mood. The plot actually had potential and I always enjoy watching Connie Nielsen. Though, if you want to see what a tremendous actress she really is, avoid this piece of crap and rent the Danish film, "Brothers" (2004). Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
Ramis tries very hard to find a happy medium between straight noir and dark comedy. Trouble is, even dark comedy needs to be funny. And with the exception of a broadly-played performance by Oliver Platt - he does have one very funny line delivered perfectly - none of the characters is able to find the humor beneath all this.
Cusack seems woefully out of place, probably desperately wishing he were in something as funny as "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997) or as sinister as "The Grifters" (1990). His shtick gets tiresome after a few minutes and even Nielsen's sultry femme fatale (she does look awfully good, I must admit) can't rescue this film.
Ramis really does seem out of his league here. He's trying to venture into Stephen Frears or John Dahl country here and that's not his place. His direction is tepid at best; the film's pacing is terribly choppy - the story drags when it should get tight and twisty.
I was looking forward to seeing this film after watching the trailers. Too bad, the film never lived up to its potential. A funny, albeit dark, noir could have worked. But these chaps just didn't know how to pull one off.
I'm not averse to anti-holiday films. I rather enjoy them, if they're done well. But to compare "The Ice Harvest" to, say, "Bad Santa," is akin to comparing my stick-figure doodles to a Van Gogh.
The film never is able to strike the right mood. The plot actually had potential and I always enjoy watching Connie Nielsen. Though, if you want to see what a tremendous actress she really is, avoid this piece of crap and rent the Danish film, "Brothers" (2004). Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
Ramis tries very hard to find a happy medium between straight noir and dark comedy. Trouble is, even dark comedy needs to be funny. And with the exception of a broadly-played performance by Oliver Platt - he does have one very funny line delivered perfectly - none of the characters is able to find the humor beneath all this.
Cusack seems woefully out of place, probably desperately wishing he were in something as funny as "Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997) or as sinister as "The Grifters" (1990). His shtick gets tiresome after a few minutes and even Nielsen's sultry femme fatale (she does look awfully good, I must admit) can't rescue this film.
Ramis really does seem out of his league here. He's trying to venture into Stephen Frears or John Dahl country here and that's not his place. His direction is tepid at best; the film's pacing is terribly choppy - the story drags when it should get tight and twisty.
I was looking forward to seeing this film after watching the trailers. Too bad, the film never lived up to its potential. A funny, albeit dark, noir could have worked. But these chaps just didn't know how to pull one off.