This also has a lot to do with Corbijn direction and the script (adapted from Martin Booth's novel A Very Private Gentleman), which allow enough hints of humanity to come through the surface of Jack's icy exterior without the film ever feeling trite. (blog.cinemaautopsy.com)
Emma Thompson and Olivia Williams lead a stellar supporting cast as, respectively, the school's brutally frank headmistress and a teacher whose icy exterior masks a core of deep idealism. (film.avclub.com)
The resulting friction creates heat, possibly enough to keep water in a liquid state deep beneath the moons» icy exteriors. (discovermagazine.com)