Though the subject matter may be repugnant to certain viewers....nonetheless it is an incredibly well-made film. How the use of chiaroscuro was economically used. The use of hand-held cameras pronounced but not over-used. And lest I forget to mention that the actors are first-rate.
This film is a pure example of all that is wrong and right with our current cinema.
paging Michael Medved!
TOTALLY disagree. Too fabricated and inaccurate in comparison to the book...totally rushed...left out so much. VERY disappointing
Emperor: Tell me how he died
Nathan Algren: I will tell you, how he LIVED.
This movie is based on a book called "The Iceman" by Anthony Bruno, which was originally published in 1993, many years before the HBO confessions show or the other book by Philip Carlo. Anthony Bruno states that he didn't add anything to his book that couldn't be verified by the agent that was involved, or other law enforcement reports/files.
Nothing in this book mentions that he claimed to have killed Roy DeMeo, Jimmy Hoffa, or any other high-level Mafioso. It does, briefly, mention that Kuklinski was abusive to his wife on many occasions and that she was afraid of him.
It has details about Mr. Softee and it's pretty clear that he did murder him even though there wasn't any proof. Most of the book is about his criminal activities with other low-level criminals and him murdering people while conducting those activities.
It's clear in the book that this man murdered many people. He did have a slight connection with Roy DeMeo and carried out hits that DeMeo didn't want traced back to him.
I think it's pretty well known that a lot of Philip Carlo book is fabricated to sell copies, and people fell for it.
The bottom line is that Kuklinski was a really nasty murderer, regardless of where or how he learned it, and he needed to be locked-up. And, he made a pretty good living at it for a good, long, while.