Thin Ice

Manipulation is the name of the game in "Thin Ice." This is the story of a London based lesbian journalist, who is also an amateur doubles figure skater, hoping to compete in, as well as cover, the NY Gay Games. When she breaks up with her significant other and desperate for a skating partner, sets her sights on a repressed young female skater as a replacement. What follows is a story following the writer's attempts to befriend, and then seduce the vulnerable young woman, who hungers for the attention the other gives. Although successful in her efforts, things fall apart dramatically when the truth behind the seduction is revealed.

Thin Ice is an adequate film. Part of the early first wave of well done lesbian films from the 1990s. The acting is fine and the erotic scenes are very tame for the subject matter. But, the story has problems. By making the reason for her attentions so selfish and manipulative, the story begins to feel rather unsavory and unpleasant. Even at the end, where a happy end is suggested, the scenes were so forced, I was unsure whether happiness or pain lay ahead.

Worth seeing. Watch for the cameo by Ian McKellen.