72
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertWhat we sense after the film is that the natural sources of pleasure have been replaced with higher-octane substitutes, which have burnt out the ability to feel joy.
- 100ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliProvocative, entertaining, and impeccably crafted.
- 100Rolling StonePeter TraversRolling StonePeter TraversThis emotional climax of the film, with its warring glints of despair and hope, typifies the stunning achievement of The Ice Storm and confirms Lee as a director of the first rank.
- 90The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinElegant and deeply disquieting drama.
- 90The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsA harsh (though slightly toned down from Moody's book), deeply moving, emotionally rich and intelligent film about the difficulty of rebelling against social restrictions--and the inescapable consequences of such attempts when they do succeed--The Ice Storm should not be missed.
- 80EmpireAngie ErrigoEmpireAngie ErrigoThe dazzling ensemble perfectly captures every nuance in one of the finest acting showcases you could hope for.
- 80NewsweekDavid AnsenNewsweekDavid AnsenUnlike many dramas of middle-class family wreckage, which tilt toward soapoperatic revelations, The Ice Storm is told from an ironic, almost meditative distance that gives the movie its paradoxical power.
- 75USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkThis time, he (Ang Lee) has Kevin Kline, Joan Allen and Sigourney Weaver trudging through ice both emotional and literal -- an omnipresent metaphor but not one unduly sledgehammered. [26 September 1997, pg. 1 D}
- 70SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorRicci's Wendy captures the volatile combination of aggressiveness and uncertainty in a young woman trying to come to terms with her sexuality like no performance since Emily Lloyd's in "Wish You Were Here." It's a very different performance, quieter, harder and yet more vulnerable.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenWith The Ice Storm, Lee seems to have emphasized the details of cultural accuracy over the rudiments of telling a gripping drama.