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Frozen River
EMAILPRINTSony Pictures Classics

Universal acclaim
Based on 30 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 39 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Courtney Hunt
Directed by: Courtney Hunt
Release Date:
Theatrical: August 1, 2008
DVD: February 10, 2009
Running Time: 97 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for some language
Starring Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Michael O'Keefe, Charlie McDermott, and Mark Boone Jr.
Frozen River is the story of Ray Eddy, an upstate New York trailer mom who is lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling when she meets a Mohawk girl who lives on a reservation that straddles the US-Canadian border. Broke after her husband takes off with the down payment for their new doublewide, Ray reluctantly teams up with Lila, a smuggler, and the two begin making runs across the frozen St. Lawrence River carrying illegal Chinese and Pakistani immigrants in the trunk of Ray’s Dodge Spirit. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Film Threat Don R. Lewis
It's tough and cold and gives an inside look at poverty in America. Yet the film is also incredibly compelling and intense and I can't think of another film that's this small and powerful.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
As the summer heats up, let Frozen River wash over you; let its bracing drama and the intensity of its acting restore your spirits as well as your faith in American independent film.
Read Full Review >Time Richard Schickel
In the end, you feel that Frozen River gives about as truthful a picture of American bleakness as it's possible for a movie to present. It is a movie that asks something of an audience, but it richly rewards our curiously rapt attention.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Sometimes two performances come along that are so perfectly matched that no overt signals are needed to show how the characters feel about each other. That's what happens between Melissa Leo and Misty Upham in Frozen River.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
There is nothing sentimental or picturesque about the performances or imagery. The word that best describes both is elemental.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
A tale of ordinary Americans scraping bottom, yet there's a redemption in that. The film asks: If you were this desperate, wouldn't you do the same?
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
This is a debut feature, though you'd never know it from the filmmaker's commandingly confident style, or from the heartbreaking beauty -- heartbreaking, then heartmending -- of Melissa Leo's performance as a poor single mother who's living her whole life on thin ice.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
Ms. Hunt's eye for detail has the precision of a short story writer's. She misses nothing.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Ann Hornaday
Made with uncommon skill and assurance, the film never succumbs to rank sentimentality, but it manages to get at the nuances of human relationships.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Does what too many independent American movies only pretend to do: Takes you to an unnoticed corner of our country and shows what it's like to actually live there.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
A Sundance hit that is both absorbing and bleak, Frozen River is anchored by powerful performances, believable scenarios and excellent writing.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Tasha Robinson
Possibly one of the biggest reasons Frozen River stands out among bad-decision movies is that Ray never really tries to justify her actions.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
There is no shortage of indie movies about economically challenged women. This one is different, in that the women actually do something besides just talk about it.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer
Melissa Leo is startlingly good...You feel like you're watching a life, not a performance.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Ella Taylor
If there's one thing this movie gets dead right, it's the desperation of impoverished single mothers trying to fend for their children.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Frozen River isn't cinematically ambitious or formally adventurous, but it's built around powerful and nuanced performances by Leo, Upham and Charlie McDermott.
Read Full Review >Empire Angie Errigo
Original, sad, suspenseful and involving: the kind of work that helps independent American cinema retain its good name.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader J.R. Jones
A first-rate thriller, maintaining a high level of suspense.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Frozen River skates matter-of-factly on thin ice.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole
The film's greatest achievement is that it allows us to know Ray.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Melissa Leo is one of America's most underrated character actresses, and Frozen River confirms that opinion.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
If the role brings her more recognition and work, all the better, but Leo certainly isn't lobbying for it. She doesn't show off. She just does what she's always done: Reveals a character for who she is, nothing more, nothing less.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
Most films about illegal immigration are set on the Mexican border, and Frozen River is free of the stereotypical characters and situations of that familiar setting. It also offers a rare look at modern Native American life, exploring the ambiguity of what it means to say that the laws of the white man cannot be enforced on Indian territory.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
No trendsetter or breakthrough, this is more than anything else a welcome chance for the fine actor Melissa Leo to finally dominate a film in a terrific and affecting lead role.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine David Edelstein
All in all, Frozen River is gripping stuff. Except it's also rigged and cheaply manipulative.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
If we're going to be honest, we need to look inside and ask ourselves: Do we really want to see a listless movie about a woman whose dream is to move into a double-wide trailer?
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Joe Neumaier
Has moments of honesty, but more often the barren landscape - both outside and inside - drains the emotions out of the film.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 39 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
[Anonymous] gave it a10:
My third favorite of last year after Happy Go Lucky and WALL-E.
Patti L. gave it an8:
Very good story set across Canadian-native-American borders. Intertwining of women lives from different backgrounds while exploring family and racial issues.
aideen m gave it a6:
I stopped watching this movie after 10 minutes. Although the acting seemed fine, the movie was just too grim to watch with my grandchildren.
Tony B. gave it a7:
Here is a small film that delivers big. Let's see more of Melissa Leo.
S M gave it a1:
This movie was pretty boring. The story was OK, but the acting and directing was really weak. I cannot accept such a high user rating.
Nerijus D gave it a3:
Lame movie. Very poor direction, cinematography and supporting cast. The script has many holes as well. Some felt even ridiculous.
Colin C gave it a7:
I can see why reviewers and many other people liked this film. It certainly was an interesting look into the lives of people far removed from me. But it was also so bleak that I just felt completely drained at the end of it. Worth checking out if you're into non-commercial fare that explores some interesting themes revolving around sad, depressing people and their sad lives. And the look into how modern Indian reservations work, especially in regards to the white man's laws just outside their borders, was truly fascinating.
