The Iceman

Starring: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, & Ray Liotta 

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Between 1964 and 1986, Richard Kuklinski killed as many as 250 people for the mafia. His cold, callous style and willingness to do anything, earned him the nickname, The Iceman. In 1992, The Iceman granted HBO an exclusive interview, where he talked about his life and described his crimes, the way someone would describe their job. This film is the dramatization of Kuklinski's story, based entirely on what he said during his interview. Boardwalk Empire's Michael Shannon stars as Kuklinski and was absolutely the perfect choice to play him. Some actors, even ones like Shannon,  seem to be destine to play certain characters, it's how they make a name for themselves. Shannon is often knocked for being too cold and emotionless in his other roles, so he was essentially the perfect choice to play the Iceman. Shannon is paired with Winona Ryder and all these years later, she still manages to annoy the hell out of me. I really don't get what people see in her. The cast of this film is rounded out by some terrific cameos, by the likes of Ray Liotta, James Franco, and David Schwimmer, all of whom are terrific and add to the mystique of this film. I really did enjoy this film, but it is confusing and somewhat slow at times, slower than you wouldn't expect a film about a mafia hit-man to be. This films throws so many names at you and jumps from scene to scene and time to time so quickly, that it is a little difficult to keep track of who's who. Other than that, the performances are terrific and it's amazing how they were able to piece together a film from a simple interview, definitely worth checking out.