I watched “Iceman” (1984), and John Lone’s performance as a Stone Age man displaced in time absolutely blew me away

The basic premise of “Iceman” (1984) is simple enough: a team of researchers in the arctic finds a 40,000-year-old Neanderthal man frozen in ice. They thaw the body and begin an autopsy, only to discover that his cells are still viable, and a short while later he’s coming back to life. This setup is pure fantasy of course, but it’s presented in a fairly “down to earth” fashion with just enough realistic-sounding scientific speculation that it never feels unbelievable.

The researchers transfer the Neanderthal to an enclosed wildlife habitat to study him, and before long, the team’s anthropologist (“Shepherd,” played by Oscar winner Timothy Hutton) slowly establishes a rapport with the Iceman, who calls himself “Charu,” which of course leads to the inevitable nickname “Charlie.”

As the story unfolds, the research team is initially driven intense curiosity about the chemical circumstances which allowed Charlie to survive while frozen for thousands of years, but they soon begin to see Charlie as a person, rather than an object to be disassembled and analyzed. 

The cast is great throughout – Hutton is believable as the sensitive, caring young anthropologist, and Lindsay Crouse does an admirable job of depicting the bumpy transition from scientific curiosity for a surprising specimin, towards empathy for a fellow human who is suffering. The film also has future stars Danny Glover and David Strathairn in supporting roles, which was fun. 

However, the biggest surprise of the film for me was John Lone’s performance as Charu / Charlie. Despite acting underneath some slightly dated makeup (the prosthetic teeth are somewhat distracting at first), Lone’s performance is utterly riveting from start to finish. He plays Charu as a fully-realized person, with a complex inner life and a range of emotions, and deftly avoids any “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer” / “Encino Man” silliness. I honestly cannot express how moving his performance is in this film. He brings an incredible physicality to the role, which is especially helpful given that Charu mostly speaks in short, guttural grunts. 

I was also impressed by the way the film connects Charu’s origins to the culture and language of modern-day Inuit people, without ever descending into racist stereotypes. The handful of scenes featuring Inuit people are handled with obvious respect for their customs and language – a welcome change of pace from Hollywood’s less-than-great history on this topic. 

There are a hanful of really moving scenes throughout, but one is going to stay with me for a very long time: Shephard and Charu sitting together as Shephard starts to hum Neal Young’s “Heart of Gold.” Charu begins to chant in his langauge, and it turns into a surprisingly-moving duet, as each man opens up through their song. Another incredible moment comes later, as Charu uses pantomime to reveal that he had a mate and children, and wants to know where they are… unaware that they’ve been dead for 40,000 years.

The film itself is a fun watch with a few standout scenes, but it’s John Lone’s performance as Charu / Charlie that is completely transfixing and at times, totally heartbreaking. Seriously, if you haven’t seen this movie, watch it just for him – you won’t regret it.

Here’s a trailer, which plays up Hutton’s role without ever showing Charu (perhaps a wise choice, given the “slow build” his character receives throughout): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLv7Wabrq-Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLv7Wabrq-Q)

**TL;DR:** 1984’s “Iceman” is a fun, solid “B+”-quality sci-fi film, but features an absolutely astonishing performance by John Lone as a revived Neanderthal frozen in time for 40,000 years. Please believe me when I say that John Lone should have been nominated for an Oscar for this performance, it’s that good.

by wowbobwow