On Thin Ice

Diane Keaton plays a widowed mother of two young boys (one of whom has serious asthma) working odd jobs but falling behind on the bills; after running into an old friend who seems to have lots of money on hand, Keaton goes on her first drug-run. Dealing Crystal Meth seems like a good solution for awhile, until the local drug lord has Keaton become a partaker to prove her worth. Serious subject matter is pitched too high, with jittery Keaton flaky and flighty, but without her charming edge (she's a walking nervous breakdown). The personalities of her two kids are unconvincing (as is their general dialogue and relationship with their mom), and the supporting characters as well never take shape. TV-movie has such a fuzzy narrative that I wasn't even sure which state it was supposed to take place in (I believe North Carolina, though it was filmed in Canada), and Keaton begins the movie as a cleaning woman but never returns to that job again. The tone of the film shifts jarringly in the second-half from character study to melodrama, a change which doesn't suit anyone here particularly well.

Diane Keaton has played a few "heavy" parts in her many years on the big screen but she's mostly known for the "light and fluffy" stuff with Woody Allen, such as Annie Hall. She deserves an Oscar for best actress in a drama for this effort and it doesn't really matter what the competition was the year it was first shown. Try and find a scene in which she doesn't appear. And it was all heavy drama, exhausting in its pace and retakes, action, all at full speed. The make-up made her as young as possible and she fit the 30s age category even in close-ups, but she was playing half her age and at a very fast pace. The movie, overall was fairly well done, staged and shot well with a strong supporting cast but Keaton carried the load.

On Thin Ice (2003)

1/2 (out of 4)

Made for TV flick about the true story of Patsy McCartle (Diane Keaton), a single mother who can't pay her bills so she starts selling Meth for a ruthless drug dealer (Michael Rooker). This is without question one of the worst films I've ever seen that deals with drugs, revenge or redemption. The only reason I watched this film was because I'm a big fan of Keaton and Rooker but neither are given much to do. Keaton puts out an effort but she's at least twenty years too old for this role. The screenplay just puts her in one stupid situation after another and each of these situations are so over-dramatic that I often found myself either laughing or wishing she would have an overdose. If it weren't for the talent of the two stars then I'd call this a worst film than Reefer Madness. In fact, the final ten minutes here are worst than anything in that film.

Since this movie was based on a true story of a woman who had two children and was not very well-off, it was just scary as to how real it really was! The acting is what gave the movie that push to greatness.

Diane Keaton portrayed the main character, Patsy McCartle who had two sons whom she adored. Her performance is what made the real life story come to life on a television screen. It was very hard to watch some of the scenes since they were so real as to what happens when one becomes addicted to drugs.

Just watching this very loving mother go from sweet to not caring at all was hard, but so true. I have known people who have gone through withdrawl and it was very much like what happened in this movie, from what I remember.

I also thought that it was very risky for the director to want to make a movie out of what happened to this woman. Yet it was done so well. I applaud the director for making this movie.

I highly recommend this to anyone who has known someone who has ever been addicted to drugs or to just learn what can happen to you if you do become addicted to them.

I guess Diane Keaton was trying to break away from her "Annie Hall" character, variations of which she has played in a few subsequent movies and had kind of stereotyped her. But this TV movie wasn't the vehicle for her to do that in. I know this was supposedly based on a true story, but her character was played in such an over the top way it was hard to take her acting or the plot seriously.

I saw this made-for-TV movie on LMN recently, and it shows how far such movies have come over the years. That's not to say they are of very high quality now, but the writing and production values have improved greatly. I can't believe I'm saying that, since I usually give bad reviews to most TV movies! But the comparison between such movies then and now is very evident.