Cathardincu
Surprisingly incoherent and boring
VeteranLight
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Jacomedi
A Surprisingly Unforgettable Movie!
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
SnoopyStyle
The gardener Fred Phillips finds a discomposed body in the ice house of an estate where Diana Goode, Anne Cattrell and Phoebe Maybury are living. Molly Phillips is the cook. D.C.I. Walsh is investigating with his younger partner D.S. McLoughlin (Daniel Craig). Walsh suspects Maybury right away after investigating her husband's disappearance ten years previously. Goode and Cattrell rent separate wings of the estate. Many in the small town spread rumors of the women's lesbianism.It's a three hour 2-parter and there is probably enough material for one and half hour. The acting is solid and there is a younger Daniel Craig earning his stripes. The movie needs to be quicker but the long running really gets into the way. The start is pretty good but it slowly runs out of steam. The solid acting struggles to maintain interest.
Roedy Green
The Ice House at first appears to be your typical English murder mystery. Gradually some differences emerge:1. the pace is quite slow, much closer to a real investigation.2. your sympathies are with the suspects. You can see why they are sick of co-operating with such loutish police asking the same questions over and over, making all manner of accusations. The police are smirking, rude, bullying, homophobic.3. You don't know for sure if the various murders actually happened, and if so, who was murdered. This multiplies the number of possibilities exponentially.4. The townspeople are revolting. Based on rumours they are sure who the culprits are and are keen on vigilante justice. They are brutish and stupid, far scarier than any murderer.5. Daniel Craig (of later James Bond fame) plays the second in charge inspector. He is an alcoholic. He undisciplined. He is even handsomer than he was as Bond, and somewhat scary in his volatility. The chief inspector is a despicable character who ignores evidence and abuses his power.It is quite a subtle film, except for the final scene when Craig gives the townspeople a dressing down they will never forget. This movie requires patience and lots of thinking. It about characters, not plot.
blanche-2
The Ice House is a 1997 British mystery starring Daniel Craig, Corin Redgrave, Kitty Aldridge, Frances Barber, and Penny Downie. Three women living together and hated by the town come under suspicion when a body is found in their ice house. Ten years earlier, the husband of one of them, Phoebe (Downie) had disappeared, and at that time, she had been suspected of killing him by DCI Walsh (Redgrave). The other two women, Anne (Aldridge) and Diana (Barber) are lesbians. The town disapproves of them.Daniel Craig plays DS Andy McLoughlin, who is also working on the investigation of identifying the man in the ice house. His boss is convinced it's the husband. But there is more to the case and to the home situation, as Andy learns; all the while, he's falling for Anne.Very good mystery that really keeps you guessing. The lonely house provides a great atmosphere, and the characters are all well defined and well-acted. Daniel Craig is always good, and after seeing him on stage, I'm even more impressed with him. As a man with a troubled marriage, coming up against his boss, and getting personally involved with the case, he does a wonderful job. He and Kitty Aldridge have excellent chemistry.Highly recommended.
Suzi-9
This is perhaps the best mystery I've seen on PBS Mystery! Interesting characters, suspenseful plot development, and flawless acting make this TV version of Minette Walter's mystery novel better than the book - and I've never said that about a movie vs. book before.