TxMike The sisters who wrote and directed this movie know their subject. They are from Wisconsin, and their father works in the insurance business. This movie is set in Wisconsin and centers upon a man in insurance, albeit I'm sure far removed from their father.Greg Kinnear really is perfect as the slick Mickey Prohaska, versed in the ways of starting up a conversation to sell insurance, but with a debilitating affliction, he is a serial and habitual liar. He smiles and tells one lie after another, as if that's just the way the world works. Problem is after a while everyone who knows him no longer trusts him.Now, as the movie gets going in the frozen north, and Mickey's schemes start to unravel, with the violin music in the soundtrack sounding strangely familiar, very reminiscent of "Fargo", I really started to feel I was watching a different version of "Fargo", with a little "A Simple Plan" thrown in. Mickey Prohaska could have been the fraternal twin of William H. Macy's Jerry Lundegaard, just working in a different industry. And that feeling lasts through most of the movie, as the trouble gets deeper and deeper for Mickey, until near the end we find out that almost nothing is as it appears to be.David Harbour is really good as the new insurance agent, Bob Egan. But the veteran Alan Arkin brings a special life to the elderly immigrant Gorvy Hauer. Lea Thompson is good as always, as Mickey's somewhat estranged wife Jo Ann Prohaska. Bob Balaban is his usual competent self as antique violin dealer Leonard Dahl. But Billy Crudup shows again why he is one of the better, if under-appreciated, actors today, as Randy the locksmith and alarm system installer who goes completely crazy towards Mickey as debts rise and police get closer.In all it is mainly a very dark comedy, and a lesson, even if fictional, in the pitfalls of trying to lie yourself through life and relationships. I enjoyed it, the story held my attention all the way.SPOILERS FOLLOW: As the story develops it appears to be a simple case of Mickey seeing his way out of debt by conning the old man out of his old violin that eventually is appraised at $1.25Million. But his con goes horribly wrong when Randy has to apparently kill a witness, then he and Mickey apparently dispose of the body in ice covering a frozen lake. But it was all a calculated ruse, the old man, the witness, the other insurance salesman, and Randy were not who they said they were, the whole ruse was to get $1.25Million for a cheap violin by processing an insurance claim after it disappeared. Mickey was caught with his pants down, left the frozen north and, as the movie ends, was trying again in the warm south.

MLDinTN This is one of those movies were what you see is not what is really happening. Everything that happens is to mislead you to the surprise ending. Mickey is an insurance salesman whom finds a new client with the help of a new employee. The new client, Gorvy, is an elderly man that is buying insurance for his house, but Mickey soon learns he also possesses a valuable violin. Mickey is in a lot of debt and so decides to swindle the old man.What he learns days later, is that he was the only one whom was swindled. And everybody he thought he new was really someone else. I thought it was clever.FINAL VERDICT: check it out, it's a great con.

witster18 "Thin Ice", much like Fargo, is a murder-story set in a snowy-midwestern town. The lead character is an immoral salesmen who's life is literally falling apart around him.The good news is that "Thin Ice" provides the audience with an even-more-twisty-tale. The performances are steady across the board. Now, I'm not saying this is as good or better than Fargo, IT'S NOT! But, it's a good movie.The twists in the last 30 minutes are hefty and hard to scrutinize. There are a few aspects of the plot that were a little predictable, but for the most part the twists in the end were well-concealed and somewhat believable.The film moves fairly slow, but never came off to me as boring. It doesn't really have any style to speak of, and the other director elements are nothing special. Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, and Billy Crudip do a fine job with an average script that is completely void of comedic moments(style and comedy were two of Fargo's strengths).The plot twists in the last third of the film DO set this one apart, and while the film DOES lack style and comedy, the acting helps keep it afloat.I'd say this deserves a bit higher ranking than it's current 6.1 here, but it also isn't something that you should feel the need to move up to the top of your list.A Coen Brothers story without some of the Coen Bro's trademarks.I'm stuck between 6 and 7 here at 65/100, but rounding up and taking into consideration the low 6.1 score.You might like this if you liked: American Gun(not as good), Fargo(better), Burn After Reading(about even), and Millions(not as good).

ezriderz You need to know that this is a comedic crime movie with an intricate twist at the end.The good actors and compelling plot held my interest from the start. The two movies that it reminded me of were Fargo because of the cold, snowy weather, and A Simple Plan for it's bumbling low-class crooks. Greg Kinnear plays the crooked insurance agent who plots to steal a million dollar violin from an old man for whom he is writing an insurance policy. Billy Crudup is very effective as the crooked locksmith who manages to get himself tangled up in the theft. Alan Arkin is great as the old man who plays the patsy but turns out to be the real brains behind a con that was so elaborate and intricate that I find it hard to believe they could actually pull it off. But it makes a great fun flick with a twist.Many people don't like the ending. I thought the denouement was clever, but zipped by too fast to really get the beauty of the con. I wish they had given a few more minutes to the ending.