| Genre: | Drama |
| Year: | 1997 |
| Rating: | PG13 |
| Length: | 113mins |
| Country: | USA |
| Cast: | Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Michael Cumpsty, Henry Czerny, Adam Hann-Byrd, Katie Holmes, David Krumholtz, Tobey Maguire, Christina Ricci, Jamey Sheridan, Sigourney Weaver, Elijah Wood |
| Credits: | Directed by Ang Lee. Produced by Ang Lee, Ted Hope & James Schamus. Screenwriter, James Schamus. Cinematography by Fredrick Elmes. Music by Mychael Danna. Film Editing by Tim Squyres. Production Designed by Mark Friedberg. Art Direction by Bob Shaw. Associate Producers, Alysse Bezahler, Anthony Bregman & Alex Steyermark. Set Direction by Stephanie Carroll. Costumes designed by Carol Oditz. Assistant Directors, James W. Jr. Murray & Stephen Wertimer. Casting by Avy Kaufman. Sound by Drew Kunin. |
Synopsis
Though outwardly possessing everything a suburban family from the early '70s could want, inwardly the Hoods are on thin ice. Their dysfunctional relationships reach the breaking point during the 1973 Thanksgiving. Patriarch Ben Hood (Kevin Kline) seldom communicates with his wife Elena (Joan Allen) anymore. Frustrated, and lonely, Elena is on the verge of an emotional meltdown that none of the many self-help books she reads can stop, while Ben copes by having an affair with their neighbor Janey Carver (Sigourney Weaver). Dutifully home for the holidays, Paul Hood
(Tobey Maguire) is a 16-year old prep student who would have rather remained at school so he could drink and make time with a certain girl. His 14-year-old sister Wendy (Christina Ricci) is exceptionally bright and is obsessed with the Watergate scandal; she is also very curious about sex and is unafraid to experiment with Janey's young teenage
boys Mikey (Elijah Wood) and Sandy (Adam Hann-Byrd). Once the family is back home, they are all busy enough to avoid communicating with each other, but the family ice begins to crack when Ben is visiting Janey and finds Wendy messing around with Mikey. Elena finds out, deduces that her husband is cheating and is shattered. An unusually bad ice storm forces the family into a crisis situation that will either draw them together or forever destroy them. In many ways the troubles faced by the Hoods -- rapidly changing sexual mores; a preoccupation with expanding the mind via books, drugs and alcohol; political uncertainty, and a shift in power -- mirrors those of the tempestuous times, which filmmaker Ang Lee carefully researched and accurately recaptures.
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