Frozen River (2008)

Takes place in the days before Christmas near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Here, the lure of fast money from smuggling ... See full summary »

Director:

Courtney Hunt

Writer:

Courtney Hunt

Stars:

Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 33 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Melissa Leo	...	Ray Eddy
Misty Upham	...	Lila Littlewolf
Charlie McDermott	...	T.J.
Michael O'Keefe	...	Trooper Finnerty
Mark Boone Junior	...	Jacques Bruno
James Reilly	...	Ricky
Jay Klaitz	...	Guy Versailles
John Canoe	...	Bernie Littlewolf
Dylan Carusona	...	Jimmy
Michael Skye	...	Billy Three Rivers (as Michael Sky)
Gargi Shinde	...	Pakistani Mother
Rajesh Bose	...	Pakistani Father
Azin Jahanbakhsh	...	Pakistani Dealer
Jack Phillips	...	Pakistani Baby
James Phillips	...	Pakistani Baby

Storyline

Takes place in the days before Christmas near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Here, the lure of fast money from smuggling presents a daily challenge to single moms who would otherwise be earning minimum wage. Two women - one white, one Mohawk, both single mothers faced with desperate circumstances - are drawn into the world of border smuggling across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River. Ray and Lila - and a New York State Trooper as opponent in an evolving cat-and-mouse game.

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Plot Keywords:

mohawk | money | new york | river | car | 

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Taglines:

Desperation knows no borders.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Sony [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Chinese Urdu

Release Date:

31 October 2008 (Venezuela)

Also Known As:

Río helado

Filming Locations:

New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$70,234 (USA) (1 August 2008)

Gross:

$2,508,841 (USA) (13 March 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cohen Media Group, Harwood Hunt Productions, Off Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charlie McDermott and James Reilly, who play brothers, are, in actual life, cousins.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the film, when the truck arrives, there is clearly no snow on the road surface. When the boy throws his snowball, there are traces beneath the truck of previous snowballs (previous takes). Then, when the truck leaves, there is again no snow.

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Lila Littlewolf: Count it.

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Connections

Referenced in Maltin on Movies: Awards Special 2011 (2011)

User Reviews

Keep this one in deep freeze!

One of those "indie" films that receives a multitude of accolades and great reviews from the taste-makers but fails to deliver. The 4 votes I gave were solely for Melissa Leo's performance which prevented me from pressing the "open" button on the remote. I don't even have much to say about the story but it felt like I was experiencing events in real time. I have to write another few lines in order to get my comments submitted. I just want to warn all those people who are in the DVD shop or online and see DVD covers with lots of great reviews and prizes from obscure and not such obscure Film Festivals that these are not always great indicators of a good movie. I just watched "Crank 2". It wasn't nominated for the Sundance Film Festival but it was the best hour and a half of entertainment I could have wished for.