“There's a body in the old ice house.” Thus begins this gripping and at times grisly 1997 BBC two-part adaptation of international bestselling British crime writer Minette Walters' murder mystery, no doubt released on DVD to coincide with a new movie featuring one of its stars: Daniel Craig, the man who would be Bond. And he will leave viewers shaken and stirred as police sergeant McLoughlin, who is brought in on a very cold case indeed. Is the body in the ice house that of long-missing David Maybury, a man who McLoughlin's superior, Walsh (Corin Redgrave), is convinced was murdered 10 years before by Maybury's wife, Phoebe (Penny Downie)? Walsh is not the only one assured of her guilt; the very hostile villagers also believe she got away with murder and don't approve of her living arrangement with two women, Diana (Frances Barber) and Anne (Kitty Aldridge). From the decomposed body to intimations that the missing husband was something of a “total bastard,” things turn rather nasty before all of the secrets are revealed. The performances by the core ensemble are uniformly excellent, although the portrayals of the homophobic townspeople are a little over the top. DVD extras include an hour-shy profile of Walters that does not shed much light on The Ice House, but does illuminate her creative writing process. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)
The Ice House
BBC, 180 min., not rated, DVD: $19.98 Volume 28, Issue 1
The Ice House
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: