Taking place in the isolated, frozen town of Barrow, Alaska, Andrew Okpeaha MacLean's On the Ice tells the story of three teens who learn that violence can never have a good ending.
On a routine seal hunt, two guys wage an internal war, leading each to become involved in the heated battle that leads to a heavy cover up after one of them is brutally murdered.
While beautifully filmed and featuring a few unique scenes, the film eventually proves to be too flat to really ignite much interest from viewers. The lead actor bore the same tone during much of the film (forcing me to question whether it was his character portrayal or lack of acting chops) and his supporting cast provided no support as their delivery was unnatural in nearly every way possible.
The ending was the most frustrating aspect of the whole picture, just barely beating out the lack of an overall point. By the time the credits began to roll I felt no closure. More importantly, however, I felt no reason for having watched the story that was projected on the big screen.
Call me crazy, but Sundance really missed the mark with this one. It was one of my highly anticipated films, a Frozen River type sleeper. The only difference here, this film just isn't good.
