Smoldering and Volcanic Acting

aharmas

Michael Shannon performs with such magnetic power that one can't keep from looking at the screen and wondering just how lethal his next move is going to be. His acting is so powerful it keeps drawing us closer, even though the nature of his character and his actions are repulsive and deplorable. Yet there is another side, barely hinted at that shows his humanity, and with his interaction and support of his devoted wife, beautifully played by Wynona Ryder, we wonder what makes him tick.

He is a professional and ruthless assassin, one of the best in his field. Through complications in his associations, he finds himself the target of his superiors and because of domestic obligations he reneges in his contract, which complicates matters even more. Incredibly, this might generate a little sympathy from the audience because we don't want him to fall so quickly. We know this will ultimately happen, but this type of character deserves to at least, overcome and few obstacles.

"The Iceman" resembles other gangster sagas which have been embellished and mythologized since their release. In reality, this film might be more accurate in their portrayal because these are not very nice individual. As played by Shannon, his hit-man has a cold soul which at times unleashes so much hate and destruction, he endangers the lives of his loved ones, and in a truly spine chilling moment, he reveals his lack of regret, with one exception. I was very impressed by Liotta, giving us so much more in a few minutes than all he did in "Goodfellas". He must be better because Shannon is indeed as perfect an actor as he can be here, giving us so much with his glances, his stares, his voice, not wasting a single part of his body to create a truly frightening monster, not a special effect wonder, one peg in a machinery stressing camera moves. In fact, the camera follows him and never stops focusing on him. He might interact with different people, but this is his story, and it is his actions that attract and repel us.

There are many great parts in the film, and some of them don't have anything violent in them, but it is the specter of the potentially explosive nature of Shannon's reactions that create a tension which doesn't appear in other pictures of this type. In those family life is so wonderful to provide contrast to the horrors of crime and its imminent poisoning and destruction of the innocent. There is a chilling moment at the end of "The Godfathers I and II" when Michael has surrendered to the dark forces. Here, one single comment, one careless look, one direct or indirect attack can provoke a reaction that is bound to leave a few bodies on the screen and keep us in a state of constant tension. "The Iceman" is outstanding and powerful film making, and if there is justice out there, Shannon should at least get his due for a masterful job.

score 9/10

aharmas 27 May 2013

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2803620/