The Iceman

Michael Shannon may be the most interesting actor working today. He can always be counted on to give intense performances, even in movies that aren't quite up to his talent. One of those is The Iceman, a film from earlier this year, directed by Ariel Vromen.

The true story of contract killer Richard Kuklinski, The Iceman grapples with how a vicious killer like Kuklinski, who killed 100 or more people, could also be such a loving family man. But that's really well worn territory, going back to The Godfather or before. That's always been a dichotomy in criminals--the ability to separate their blood lust and their family ties.

Shannon is Kuklinski, and when we first meet him he is on his first date with Winona Ryder, whom he will eventually marry. They have two daughters, and live well in the suburbs. Ryder thinks he is in currency exchange, when in actuality he's a hit man for a local mob boss (Ray Liotta).

Liotta hires Shannon after roughing him up a bit in a porno film lab, where Shannon works. He sees that Shannon keeps extraordinarily cool, and after ordering him to kill a bum, hires him. Shannon becomes good at what he does, but has a short temper. Eventually he teams up with another killer (Chris Evans) who operates out of an ice cream truck, but things start unraveling.

The movie is based on a real person, but I see that there are certain things they left out, most notably that Kuklinski would practice killing by offing homeless men in Hell's Kitchen. The film tries to paint a kinder picture of the man by emphasizing his dutiful role as father and husband, but even then it's hard to see how Ryder puts up with his moods and eruptions of anger (he chases a motorist who has pissed him off with all of them in the car). The only glimpse of his background is when he visits his brother (an unrecognizable Steven Dorff) and we see that their are deep roots to his psychosis.

The film is full of surprise appearances. In addition to Dorff, James Franco pops up as one of Shannon's victims, and David Schwimmer, wearing a pony-tail and porn mustache, is one of Liotta's goons.

Though the film ultimately doesn't have any answers to Kuklinski's dual nature, it is a well-made, suspenseful film. And Shannon is terrific.