Review: Iceman

A drilling expedition in the Arctic uncovers a Neanderthal man encased in ice. The body is transported to a scientific research facility where it starts to thaw, much to the shock and awe of the anthropologists attempting to study it. Moving him to a kind of bio-dome living space, young Dr. Shepherd (Timothy Hutton) attempts to communicate with the now dubbed ‘Charlie’ (John Lone). Meanwhile, other scientists (David Strathairn, James Tolkan, and Josef Sommer among them) are debating whether or not to ‘donate his body to science’ so to speak and learn about how he has managed to stay so well-preserved for so long. Dr. Shepherd is obviously displeased with this rather clinical approach, and attempts convince another doctor (Lindsay Crouse) to join his cause and save Charlie’s life so that we can learn more about ourselves through our ancestors. Danny Glover has a small role as one of the people in charge of monitoring Charlie’s simulated habitat at the compound.

 

Although its central idea has more often than not been the subject of ridicule and comedies over the years (“Encino Man”), or at least done to death (“Instinct”, “Nell”, etc.), this 1984 Fred Schepisi (“The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith”, “Roxanne”, “A Cry in the Dark”) sci-fi drama is worth a look for patient and appreciative viewers. It is well-made in every respect (certainly better than “Nell” was), there’s nothing wrong with it, and I wish I was more into it than I actually ended up being.

 

Timothy Hutton and Lindsay Crouse are perfectly cast (so too David Strathairn), and James Tolkan (who I thought was dead for some reason, but I’ve read that he’s very much alive in 2014) has a fun role, too. It’s a shame that the talented Josef Sommer isn’t given much screen time, as I really like him. As for John Lone in the all-important title role...well, it’s an impossible role to come out of very well, and the best I can say for him is that he is convincing. It’s interesting I guess that they’ve cast an Asian guy (Lone being Chinese-born) as a caveman, and the makeup is really good too, but the role itself just isn’t all that interesting.

 

Some might find the film a bit dry, but I liked its matter-of-kinda-fact approach to what is basically a bullshit concept. It can be a bit risky taking something like this seriously, but as written by John Drimmer and Chip Proser (the latter of whom co-scripted Joe Dante’s fun “Innerspace”), it pretty much worked for me. Here’s a film with some genuine ideas in its head and at the time it was probably truly impressive. Certainly not a film for mindless popcorn movie lovers. No wonder it has been largely forgotten about, then. It’s a solid film, and a convincing and interesting one, but perhaps in the passage of time and subsequent films, some freshness has been lost. Worth seeking out, though, if you’re looking for a slightly fantastical but thoughtful, humanistic sci-fi film. It’s certainly nowhere near as silly or foolish as it could’ve been in less assured hands than Aussie director Schepisi (And it’s definitely miles ahead of any version of “The Thing” you care to name, as this is yet another arctic-set film involving frozen life forms thawed by a team of scientists).

 

Rating: B-