The Iceman (2013)
In the 1960s, Richard Kuklinski is working as a porn film lab tech until his mob bosses persuade him to change his career into that of a contract killer. For years, Kuklinski gains a reputation for cold blooded professionalism even as he raises a family who are kept in the dark about his true career. Unfortunately, mob politics ultimately forces him to secretly work independently with the psychopathic Robert 'Mr. Freezy' Pronge. As much as Kuklinski tries to keep his lives separate, circumstances and his own weaknesses threaten a terrible collision as the consequences of his choices finally catch up to him.
Loving husband. Devoted father. Ruthless killer.
Mr. Freezy: Mr. Kuklinski, do you have any regrets about the things you've done?
Shreveport, Louisiana, USA
Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA
While in prison, Richard Kuklinski claimed to be responsible along with four other men for the kidnap and murder of former Teamsters union boss Jimmy Hoffa on July 30 1975 in a restaurant parking lot in Detroit. The five-man team was allegedly given the contract on Hoffa by Tony Provenzano, a captain in the Genovese crime family. Kuklinski claimed to have been paid $40,000 for the hit. Kuklinski said that he knocked Hoffa unconscious with a blackjack and, while holding Hoffa's chin up, thrust a hunting knife into the back of his head. Hoffa's body was then allegedly placed in the trunk of a car that was then crushed and sold as scrap metal to Japanese car makers. The claims only surfaced after Kuklinski's death in March 2006 in a book by author Philip Carlo and will probably never be substantiated.
Apart from a 15 second flashback, the film makes virtually no mention of the awful childhood that Richard Kuklinski endured. His parents were both deeply violent people, with his father accidentally beating his older brother to death. This contributed to Kuklinski becoming a very violent person himself. The film completely glosses over the fact that he regularly beat his own wife.
To aid her performance as the oblivious wife, Winona Ryder removed all the pages of the screenplay that didn't involve her.
Michael Shannon was able to emulate the real Richard Kuklinski's voice by listening to TV interviews and the HBO documentary, The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer (1992).
James Franco and Benicio Del Toro were originally cast in the lead roles. Franco was replaced by Chris Evans and Del Toro was replaced by Ray Liotta, although Franco was given the brief role of Marty Freeman instead.
Continuity
The paper with the "Iceman" headline that Mr. Freezy hands to Kuklinski has a story about Roy Demeo's body being found in the trunk of his car, though he is not yet dead in the movie and in fact Kuklinski and Mr. Freezy are discussing putting a hit on him in that scene.
When the Iceman is driving to make the hit on Marty Freeman, his gloves are on/off/on between shots.
Factual errors
When his brother calls it's a collect call from the Hudson County Jail but when he visits him a short time later his brother is being held in Trenton State Prison.
One hour, thirty four mins and thirty nine seconds into the movie when Richard Kuklinski is being arrested in his 1976 Lincoln continental with his wife, there is a December 2013 New Hampshire Vehicle inspection sticker that appears on the windshield when the camera zooms into their faces to see their reactions to the armed police officers approaching them.
Eight minutes 20 seconds into the movie the month/year is shown to be September 1965, yet the car the mobsters are driving is a 1967 Buick Electra. This car came out in September 1966.
Revealing mistakes
When Richard meets Mr Freezy in the park, after he kills Leo, Mr Freezy gives him a newspaper with a headline that reads "THE ICEMAN MURDERS!!". There are two stories visible on the first page. One is about Roy Demeo's body having been found in the trunk of his car. If it wasn't for Mr Freezy commenting about Roy getting to them, we could've just assumed Richard had killed Roy off-screen. Also, the second story on the first page is titled "New mafia man" , but the text is about helicopters.
Anachronisms
In the hospital scenes, "Cover Your Cough" posters are visible in the hallways even though that campaign did not start until the 2000's - many years after the film takes place.
In the hospital, there are visual fire alarms in the hallways. The visual fire alarms didn't appear in the buildings until 1990s under Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Some of vehicles travelling on the street in 1976 were not produced until 1977 or later. The vehicles are as following Chevrolet Malibu (1978), Chevrolet Impala taxicab (1977), a parked Oldsmobile Delta 88 station wagon (1977). A double-parked Ford Econoline didn't have rectangular headlamps until 1979, following a minor facelift.
Early in the movie when Kulkinski is sitting in the back seat of Leo's "new" Buick Electra 225, the headliner and C-pillar lining is loose, ill fitted and wrinkled.