Snow Cake

• 
  
  January 20, 2009

  SilentWarProductions2009

  Directed by: Marc Evans.
  Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Hampshire.
  
  "Yesterday, he took my hands and danced with me. Every time, he does something new...how ever small, it's a brilliant feeling. I wish everyone cou...( read more)ld get to know someone like my little brother, he makes you look at things in a brand new way. Some people say that James won't ever do the things I do, but it doesn't matter, he'll just do different things. I love my little brother so much and one day I know he'll tell me he loves me to."
  
  The story follows a man named Alex, a man with a past and with such sadness. On his travels through Ontario to see an 'old friend', he stops of at a truck stop and is approached by a very vibrant young girl asking for a ride home. An tragic car accident occurs killing Vivienne instantly and Alex believes it is the best thing to travel to her hometown and meet her mother. Alex soon finds out that Vivienne's mother is highly autistic with her own way of living and he soon becomes attached with not only her, but the very 'friendly' neighbor.
  
  Angela Pell, first time screenwriter (and someone who has an autistic son herself) has really written a fantastic script. I think it really is one of the more difficult ideas to bring to film, especially when you want to do it right. Although it may have points aimed at pushing the sentimentality onto the audience, nothing is forced. Beautifully rich in character, unexpectedly witty and dry and carrying a warm and gentle heart at the core, it is not only a very good showcase of sub-character for what we all see as 'normal' people and the reminder for us to not forget to stop in life and find out who we truly are, but a very real and insightful look into autism. Not only does it not display autistic people as 'idiots', or even as outcasts, we are shown there own personal way of life and living and there completely unconventional way of dealing with the emotional and loss around every corner.
  
  Marc Evan's is a name I had seen before on a lot of low budget films that attempt to be 'mainstream', but I think he has really set a name for himself after this film...something more fitting in the independent scene. In style, he is quite limited, which might seem like a bad thing, but every simple choice he makes adds another level of genuinty to the story. From the sweetly poetic focuses on the simple things, to the right doses of genuine intensity and emotion...and the step-backs to let the actors shine, Marc really shows craftsmanship in something so simple.
  
  The performances are astonishing. Sigourney Weaver has always proved to be an essence on screen to beat, especially playing strong-willed characters, but this time around, she goes for something a little bit more challenging...playing an autistic woman. She delivers astonishingly well with her near pitch-perfect profoundness of the complexities of her characters mind, its a role screaming for an Oscar, but its unlikely she will get recognized. Carrie-Anne Moss works well on the little she is given but shows great presence and Emily Hampshire is so sweet and full of charisma. Even with a dozen strong performances, none stand close to Alan Rickman. He is the standout here and delivers one of his deepest and more fitting roles of his career. His typical dry and tone perfect humor is a brilliant match for the wit of the film and not only that, but he inhabits the roles underlying sadness and intricate layers and its really a showcase for his amazing talent.
  
  I think I have said everything I have wanted to say, there's no need to write a closing statement on my opinion.
  
  

  86/100
  
  "Have you ever had an orgasm, Alex?"..."It has been known"..."It sounds like an inferior version of what I feel when I have a mouthful of snow."

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• 
  
  January 20, 2009

  AgentLexi2132

  ''Being with you. Being with Linda. Being with myself again. Hey, and I'm having sex and these muffins are great. That sort of thing.''

  A drama focused on the friendship between a high-functioning autistic woman (Weaver) and a man (Rickman) who is traumatized after a fat

  ...( read more)al car accident.

  Alan Rickman: Alex Hughes

  Snow Flake is a tale of random lives thrown together, of fateful meetings that that are almost incommunicable with mere words, of the power of surreal bonds, of characters defying what is expected of themselves and sometimes of what they would expect of themselves, and of finding a strength inside.

  Sigourney Weaver is from a different frame of mind, one not unlike our rational, emotional way. She's not fighting monsters from outer space this time or living in a strange village, but the world into which she brings us is as weird, and dazzling enough for my mind to alter after watching her for just an instance. Her presence leaps off the canvas with such vividness that, even though I had read the storyline, I knew it was going to surpass my expectations. Her character is fascinated by things that sparkle, can juggle numbers with unnerving rapidity, inhabits a universe of extreme precision that brooks no infraction, and no uncleanliness: and she's only barely tolerant of our world. This is the world of Linda Freeman, high-functioning autistic.

  There are two sides to Linda: the world she lives in is undoubtedly extraordinary - her version of Scrabble leaves Alan Rickman's character(Alex Hughes) looking severely uninvolved - but it is balanced by her lack of empathy for normal people like us. What makes Weaver's performance so remarkable is that she conveys the logical certitude of Linda's position with such force that we, like Alex, start feeling unintelligent. Why do we go through such irrelevant rituals after a death? Why can't we feel the joy we felt as children when we discovered snow in our hands, or the thrill of a trampoline as our body is launched into space? Why do we struggle to remember simple facts? The drawbacks of Linda's world (apart from most people not being able to reach it) is that she cannot cope with the imperfections that the rest of us would shrug off. If the dog leaves a stain on her carpet she will have simply have to 'move house', and the only kind of job she can get is one where her obsessive need for order can find a simplistic outlet (she stacks shelves in a supermarket, with mathematical precision and attention). If Rain Man was the gold-medalist of autism, Linda Freeman is simply a non-glamorized regular sportswoman, and in that she conveys a more real person than any Hollywood-ised invention.

  ''Neurotypic people are obsessed with having friends. I'm only trying to help you get some.''

  Alex(Alan Rickman) opens the film, flicking poignantly at a small photo as he sits out a long flight. We have no clue as to whom the being in the picture is, or why he seems to be encased in his own intense thoughts. Later, we see him in a transport cafe, approached by a bubbly young girl who is determined to break down his wall of silence. She wants to write a book and make loads of money - by finding the right areas of pain and suffering to focus on. Her apparent insensitivity is quickly tempered when she admits she admits she needs a lift but has picked the loneliest looking person because she really thinks he "needs to talk". Alex reluctantly gives her a lift. She is soon singing the 70's rock song All Right Now at the top of her voice, but things are far from all right. One car crash and an added truckload of emotional baggage later, Alex is arriving on Linda's doorstep and destined to be her guest for more than a few hours. Our storyline is further complicated by the seductively beautiful Maggie(Carrie-Ann Moss) who has her eye on Alex. He first assumes she is a prostitute, but accepts a neighbourly invite for a meal.

  Rickman is at his best. The wry tongue-in-cheek humour seen in many of his films gives way to a sardonic realism that is even funnier because it is more true to real life. A very down to earth script ensures the laughs are grounded (Love Actually but with echoes of realism), even if in most cases Rickman is principally a foil for other characters: such as when Linda likens eating snow to an orgasm or Maggie breaks off dinner because she hates having sex on a full stomach.
  We soon realize that Linda's childlike behavior thinly disguises a penetrating intellect, but her intelligence doesn't enable her to solve everyday problems such as putting the trash outside. She has emotional insight, even consideration, but her world is as isolated from ours as ours is from hers, even with her ability to reel off facts and figures. One is reminded of a recent study that suggested that emotional intelligence may serve people better in the workplace than a Mensa certificate.

  Rickman's character struggles with Canadian distances in a typically British manner. "It didn't look far on the map," he says dismayingly sardonic. He is out of his depth geographically and emotionally but, obsessed with his own inadequacies, is open to seeing things differently. The landscape whiteness, at first cold and unwelcoming, starts to seem beautiful. Maggie allows Alex to open emotionally whereas Linda, through the intellectual effort he makes to reach her, enables him to rationalize the process and come to terms with his feelings. Linda is a doorway to seeing things differently - "I'm half outside, half inside," she says as she hovers on the porch and we puzzle whether she is being dippy or intentionally defusing a difficult situation. The mathematical way she describes needing a hug reassures us that she is human, but by then we have learnt a whole new attitude of respect. Snow Cake is a very personal venture, not an overblown piece of money making tripe, but a story which enriches the way we see ourselves, that makes us take an instant to look within.

  ''It's because those glasses don't look right on your face, you have a long face and those glasses make you look shifty.''

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• 
  
  January 13, 2009

  JennifairyW

  Linda: "Do people like you Alex?"
  Alex: "Not much, no."
  Linda: "I'm not surprised. It's because those glasses don't look right on your face."
  
  

  **review later**

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• 
  
  January 11, 2009

  organgrinder136

  sigourney holds her character well, rickman plays an interesting part and the film itself is refreshingly original. would probably watch again at some point

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• 
  
  November 6, 2008

  kiriyamakazou

  Snow Cake handles the difficult task of dealing with highly emotional situations while keeping the emotions under the surface. Whether it be Weaver's fantastic and often hilarious portrayal of a woman with autism, or Alan Rickman's reserved Englishman, the tears and pain are kept...( read more) mostly in the past. Dealing with autism is a hard subject, even harder when you have to show the lack of emotion without seeming distant or detached. Amazingly both the writing and the acting helps to keep the film relevant. Weaver even has time to philosophize in her own special way, where death is inevitable, it is nobody's fault and nothing can be done about it. It's feel good in a bittersweet fashion. Rickman's own back story is powerful stuff, especially his meetings with the other participant in the accident that sets the film in motion. Sometimes the indie music and songs of Broken Social Scene intrude on what could be more thoughtful moments but generally the film is great.

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• 
  
  October 11, 2009

  FiLmCrAzY

  i love this movie its fantastic
  its such a sweet heart warming funny film with sigourney weaver doing a performance of a lifetime its a brilliant film and really worth a watch!!
  this movie has a great storyline andim surprised it wasnt really released in cinemas as i think this...( read more) would have done better!
  the storyline is brilliant with a brilliant cast which was acted brilliantly! Alan rickman is totally beleved in this movie andalthough itssad it does leave you smiling throughout the movie!
  when lan rickman is wonover by the girl asking for a lift he gets into a car crash that leaves her dead when he feels so torn up with guilt he goes and finds hr mother whop turs out to autistic he ends up stayig asnd we find out abou his dark past! brilliant movie completely worth a watch!

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• 
  
  October 9, 2009

  SuperVision

  Sigourney Weaver was even better than Dustin Hoffman in the "Rain Man", but altogether it was slow and boring.

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• 
  
  September 21, 2009

  aswinwilliam

  This was not bad ok though. It was a strange tale as it showed different people's emotions to that accident. Rickman's character was alright a bit softcore and as for Weaver was annoying in some points. Just too paranoid. Slowly well told.

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• 
  
  August 10, 2009

  hannahelainemiller

  This is next on my netflix list :)

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• 
  
  August 6, 2009

  DarceyLP

  Brill, Sigourney can play any role !!

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View more Snow Cake reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

• 
  November 30, 2008

  Liesebieke

  It is BETTER :-)
• 
  August 3, 2007

  dolphinprincess2187

  For those who have seen it, is it as good as it looks? :)

• Alan Rickman
• Callum Keith Rennie
• Carrie-Anne Moss
• James Allodi
• Sigourney Weaver

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• Alan Rickman starred with Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss in which film?  Answer »
• Which movie has Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, and Carrie Anne-Moss?  Answer »
• Sigourney Weaver injured her knee during filming of Snow cake and could not exercise for 6 months ?  Answer »
• Who bums a ride with Alex Hughes in Snow Cake ?  Answer »

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