The Iceman

If you’re a follower of film worth his salt, then Michael Shannon will already be one of your favourite modern actors. Known for pretty much stealing everything he is in in the last few years (arguably the most notable instance being Revolutionary Road), he’s been moving closer up the credits list and the recent Take Shelter aside, this is pretty much his graduation to leading man status. Ariel Vromen’s film is based on the true life story of Richard Kuklinski (Shannon), a notorious enforcer and hitman for the Mafia. Being such a tricky subject matter Vromen wisely just lets the story play out and leaves it up to the audience to decide whether they like the film or not, as opposed to the man. In fact, the film does tone down Kuklinski’s actions (in reality he was a vicious piece of work), though it’s frustrating that Vromen (one lame flashback aside) doesn’t even look to address why Kuklinski turned out like he did in order to give the ticket payer at least some way in to his character and actions. This is Vromen’s first film in six years and though his direction is unspectacular, it’s solid enough to tell the story in a coherent manner. Though, despite the dates appearing on screen every now and then, the film doesn’t accurately portray the passing of time very well. Having Shannon change his facial hair every few scenes just doesn’t cut it. Going back to Shannon he’s great here, though, as mentioned above, it’s a shame there isn’t more to the character for him to get into. However, if there’s one thing that the hulking Shannon does better than anyone, it’s barely controlled rage. At any moment it looks like he’ll explode with a fit of violence that’ll mean bad times for whoever happens to be nearby. It’s a bit hit and miss on the supporting act front. Winona Ryder (looking about 20 years old) can’t do much as Kuklinski’s closed out wife, Ray Liotta hardly breaks sweat as a mafia boss, but an unrecognisable Chris Evans is superb as a fellow hitman. In the minor roles it’s a bit more eclectic (is that Stephen Dorff? Robert Davi? James Franco! WTF?), though the most bizarre of all is David Schwimmer sporting a ‘tache and pony tail which make him the spitting image of David Seaman circa 1996. Not that Vromen would have been thinking about that at the time, I guess………

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Not the breakout for Shannon it could have been, but you still can’t go wrong watching him murmur for an hour and forty minutes. Rating: 7/10.