‘The Ice Storm’ And Movies to Make You Cry

Posted by Melissa Locker on December 2nd

Set on Thanksgiving weekend in 1973, The Ice Storm chronicles the lives of neighbors in the wealthy town of New Canaan, Connecticut. The suburb seems to be entirely populated with bored housewives, disaffected youth, and men who take the 8:05 train to work every morning. The families all seem content-ish with their affairs and witty banter and key parties and nightly cocktails and distant familial relationships and while all those swinger parties and sideburns and velour may seem covetable (I mean, hey, velour),in the world of The Ice Storm, as Louis CK says, everything’s amazing and nobody’s happy. (Don’t know the reference? Get out from under your rock and fix that oversight right now here.) The happy-go-lucky suburban facade quickly crumbles into angst, acting out, ennui, and eventually, tragedy. Aside from the key parties, the one thing most people remember about “The Ice Storm” is how much they cried. The only other films that made me cry more were Lars Von Trier’s “Dancer in the Dark” and “My Girl”. (What?)

Obviously a lot of the credit for creating such a powerful, haunting, and memorable film goes to the incredible acting skills of the cast. Kevin Kline delivers a heartwrenching performance, as do Sigourney Weaver, Elijah Wood, Christina Ricci, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, and, yes, even Katie Holmes. Behind the camera, director Ang Lee did a great job teasing out subtly brilliant performances. As heartbreaking as the film is, you will want to watch it again and again. Just remember the box of tissues.

What movies make you cry like a wee little baby?

The Ice Storm airs tonight at 8:00p.m. ET and again Friday, Dec. 3 at 3:05 a.m. ET