Thin Ice

The mood is as chilly as the Wisconsin winter in Jill Sprecher's Thin Ice, an amusingly twisty trifle bolstered by a first-rate cast. Greg Kinnear stars as Mickey, an unscrupulous insurance agent who is robbed by a woman during a convention and returns home to a struggling business and a ruined marriage. Mickey's sole victory lies in selling a homeowner's policy to a reclusive farmer named Gorvy (Alan Arkin), a man with a wandering mind who just happens to have in his old junk pile a valuable violin, leading Mickey to hatch a plan to steal it and solve his financial woes. But things quickly unravel when Mickey's scheme to replace the violin with a copy is interrupted by Randy (Billy Crudup), a hot-tempered ex-con locksmith. From this point on, the film becomes a comedy of perpetual frustration as Mickey's hopes are repeatedly dashed, and he finds himself in increasing trouble as more people are drawn into the escalating mess. Kind of a rustic version of The Sting told in a style reminiscent of Fargo, the film suffers from an ending that ratchets up the improbability level to astronomical proportions, but still remains an entertainingly dark diversion thanks to the considerable talents of the actors. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (25 min.), deleted scenes (10 min.), a segment from the film's Sundance premiere (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the director's cut version. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an amusing thriller.] (F. Swietek)