Frozen RiverMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Frozen River."

Gifts + Promos

The Vow Free Gift

Buy tickets & receive a FREE 3-Month Love Forecast from Astrology.com!

Fandango Bucks

Send your sweetheart the gift of movies this Valentine’s Day!

Journey Sweeps

Enter for a chance to win a trip for 2 to Nicaragua!

Interactive Oscar Ballot

Who's taking home the Oscar? Cast your vote & challenge your friends on Facebook!

Need Help?
Must Go!
Avg. Critic Score: 82 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
15 Iffy for 15+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Sometimes two performances come along that are so perfectly matched that no overt signals are needed to show how the characters feel about each other. That's what happens between Melissa Leo and Misty Upham in Frozen River. Read full review

  • 100
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    As the summer heats up, let Frozen River wash over you; let its bracing drama and the intensity of its acting restore your spirits as well as your faith in American independent film. Read full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    A tale of ordinary Americans scraping bottom, yet there's a redemption in that. The film asks: If you were this desperate, wouldn't you do the same? Read full review

  • 90
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    This is a debut feature, though you'd never know it from the filmmaker's commandingly confident style, or from the heartbreaking beauty -- heartbreaking, then heartmending -- of Melissa Leo's performance as a poor single mother who's living her whole life on thin ice. Read full review

  • 90
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    Made with uncommon skill and assurance, the film never succumbs to rank sentimentality, but it manages to get at the nuances of human relationships. Read full review

  • 90
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    Ms. Hunt's eye for detail has the precision of a short story writer's. She misses nothing. Read full review

  • 88
    Boston Globe | Ty Burr

    Does what too many independent American movies only pretend to do: Takes you to an unnoticed corner of our country and shows what it's like to actually live there. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    A Sundance hit that is both absorbing and bleak, Frozen River is anchored by powerful performances, believable scenarios and excellent writing. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Robert Koehler

    No trendsetter or breakthrough, this is more than anything else a welcome chance for the fine actor Melissa Leo to finally dominate a film in a terrific and affecting lead role. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    If we're going to be honest, we need to look inside and ask ourselves: Do we really want to see a listless movie about a woman whose dream is to move into a double-wide trailer? Read full review

View more reviews for Frozen River on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 15+ Superb indie drama features great acting, smart script.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this film, which earned actress Melissa Leo an Oscar nomination for Best Actress as well as a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, is a serious, strong, and well-made drama loaded with topics worthy of serious discussion, as well as some harsh language. Parents also need to know that the film is not shy about depicting illegal activity and working-class poverty.
  • Families can talk about the complex circumstances and characters of the film. What drives Ray to become a human smuggler? What lies behind Lila's decision and actions? Families can also talk about the economic challenges faced by the lead characters -- why is it that this kind of real-world challenge is so infrequently seen in films? Finally, families can also talk about the privilege Ray has even as a poor working mother -- as Lila notes, the cops won't pull her over, "... 'cause you're white. ..."
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: The film's entire plot revolves around a number of ethical questions: What are national borders? What makes the law? What does it say when a person can make more money breaking the law than they could in weeks of "honest" labor? What makes immigration "legal" or "Illegal," and what does it say that people are so desperate to come to the United States that they'll endure any hardship to get there? There are also discussions of the differences between "whites" and Native Americans. There's also depiction and discussion of gambling addiction.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Threats are made with guns. Fighting and scuffling. Discussion of suicide bombing. An infant is, unknowingly, placed in mortal danger. A fire consumes a home. A blowtorch is brandished in anger.
  • sex false0 Sex: Brief images of people stripped down to their underwear. Scantily-clad dancers in a strip club, fully-clothed, writhe.
  • language false5 Language: Some profanity, including "bulls--t," "goddamn," multiple variatons on 'f--k," and more. Ethnic slurs and racial language, such as "Paki" and more.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Some brands mentioned, including Hot Wheels, Pringles, and more.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Extensive smoking. Drinking of beer, wine, and alcohol depicted. Discussion of drug use, drug smuggling.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Frozen River Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

So-so 862 fan reviews

Critics say

Must Go! See all critic reviews

Facebook Movie Fans

Fan Fandango on Facebook