59
Metascore
12 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- The performances, all from non-professional local actors, are noticeably uneven, but the film is as much a portrait of a place as it is a narrative, and cinematographer Lol Crawley shoots the white-on-white polar expanses like they're vistas stretching to the ends of the earth-which in a way, they are.
- 80Village VoiceVillage VoiceOn the Ice is a marvel of concentrated, classical storytelling. The flat, snowy landscape strips away all but the essentials from its tale.
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertThis is an uncommonly involving thriller. I could call it a film noir, except that the sun never sets in the film. That makes a perfect contrast with the only other feature filmed in Barrow, the vampire movie "30 Days of Night" (2007), in which it never rises.
- 65NPRElla TaylorNPRElla TaylorIn most respects, On the Ice is the kind of straight-ahead, underprivileged-teen drama beloved of Sundance audiences.
- 60Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonWall Street JournalJohn AndersonWriter-director Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, who in his feature debut has lashed together a sturdy vehicle for unadorned morality and pragmatic justice.
- 50Slant MagazineSlant MagazineThe moral dilemmas in On the Ice ultimately fail to resonate, Qalli's concluding plea for his flawed humanity coming off as strangely hollow.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisGlinting white vistas and endless light blanket On the Ice, a frigid drama that's tough to warm up to.
- Barrow's frozen vistas are a perfect match for the noir tone of On the Ice. Unfortunately, the emotional landscape of MacLean's stoic main character, Qalli, is often as blank as the tundra.
- 40Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearMore than a moral dilemma is needed to make up for the uneven performances, slack pacing and wonky dialogue, and while MacLean certainly has a keen eye, the rest of his storytelling facilities haven't quite caught up with it yet.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierIf "Ice" never really solidifies, it's nonetheless the work of a filmmaker whose seriousness is worth watching out for.