Directed by Ang Lee , the 1997 drama is a chillingly precise character study of two dysfunctional families unraveling in suburban Connecticut during the early 1970s . Set during a cold Thanksgiving weekend in 1973 , the film uses a literal and metaphorical ice storm to mirror the emotional deep freeze of its protagonists as they experiment with alcohol, adultery, and social upheaval. Plot Summary

: Ben (Kevin Kline) is an unfaithful husband having an affair with his neighbor, Janey Carver. His wife, Elena (Joan Allen), is increasingly aware of his lies but struggles to find her own purpose beyond her crumbling marriage.

The story follows the Hood and Carver families whose lives are intricately and uncomfortably intertwined.

: Janey (Sigourney Weaver) is a cynical mistress who seems disinterested in everything but her own desires . Her husband Jim (Jamey Sheridan) is often away, leaving a void filled by neglected children.

: While the adults attend a swingers' "key party," their children engage in their own confusing sexual explorations and misadventures that eventually lead to tragedy as the storm hits . The Ice Storm (1997)