THE ICEMAN – The Blu Review

Richard Kuklinski was a real-life mafia enforcer credited with taking over 100 lives in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Intimidatingly played in the bio THE ICEMAN by Michael Shannon with a Jason Voorhees bearing and dead yet piercing eyes (if he had metal teeth, I’d swear he looks just like Richard Kiel as Jaws), Kuklinski is one of the scariest and most cold-hearted characters from any mafia movie(the real Kuklinski was 6’3” and 300 pounds).The title is a reference not just to his ice-cold demeanor but the way Kuklinski disposed of bodies – freezing them to obscure the time of death, making it difficult for investigators to assemble an accurate profile.

THE ICEMAN is a cross between GOODFELLAS and HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER. Like Scorsese’s film, ICEMAN remains in the Mafia middle layers, concentrating on the soldiers and their interactions with, and loyalties to, their bosses. Like Henry Lee Lucas, Kuklinski was able to get away with murder for so many years because he never followed the same pattern, killing with guns, knives, his bare hands, and even powdered cyanide. Before his 1986 arrest, most people believed Kuklinski to be a family man. In reality the suburban New Jersey “banker” was one of the Gambino crime family’s chief executioners. A protégé of seasoned assassin Robert “Mister Softee” Pronge (Chris Evans), the elusive contract killer struggled to reconcile his relationship with his imprisoned brother Joseph (Stephen Dorff) while developing a close friendship with his Gambino family contact Roy DeMeo (Ray Liotta).

Kuklinski does not pretend to be driven by anything more than a natural viciousness, a propensity to bully people, and the need for a paycheck to keep his wife and kids happy. Director Ariel Vroman, adapting Anthony Bruni’s book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer, draws us into the raw excitement of Kuklinski’s world even as he shows us the shocking spurts of violence that propel it. He takes us inside this killer’s vile nature and disabuses us of our romantic concepts of the Mafia. Kuklinski’s first kill is someone who made a wisecrack about his girl, and the second is an innocent vagrant he murders just to show his future employers that he can.

The story cruises episodically through Kuklinski’s life and fails to cover ground that hasn’t already been covered by Scorsese and others, but thanks to Shannon’s performance, THE ICEMAN is mesmerizing. Ryder is fine but women are essentially inconsequential to the mafia business (except to occasionally threaten) and this movie as well. Ray Liotta can play this type of mob boss in his sleep but keeps getting these roles because he’s so good at them. David Schwimmer, Chris Evans, and James Franco (in a one-scene cameo) are all effective despite obnoxious ‘70s facial hair. The period detail is spot -on and THE ICEMAN looks crisp and handsome.

The Iceman arrives on Blu-ray September 3rd in a 1.85.1 widescreen presentation with AVC encoding in 1080p high definition. I’ve seen it and as you would expect for a brand-new release, the source is in pristine shape. The image is always rock solid, with a bit of post-processing applied, but still retaining the natural look of film. There is a thin veneer of grain that retains the intended gritty look of Vroman’s vision. Detail is impressive, with excellent depth throughout and shadow delineation superior. Even the darkest scenes reveal fine texture in the backgrounds, and close-ups can be tremendous.

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio is English language only. The sound effects such as gunshots, squealing tires and breaking glass are disarming enough to keep you riveted even when the acting and plot twists are not fully satisfying. Period songs weave in and out of the action and indeed bolsters the overall enjoyment of THE ICEMAN.

Extras:

The Making Of The Iceman runs 28 minutes and consists of interviews with director Vroman and cast members such as Michael Shannon, Winonna Ryder and Chris Evans.

The Iceman: Behind The Scenes runs just 8 minutes but is more interesting than the other featurette because it features behind the scenes location footage.

The extras are a bit slim. I would have liked to have seen a doc about the real Kuklinski but THE ICEMAN is a good, tough crime film and if you missed it theatrically, this Blu-ray is well worth a purchase or rental.