Snow Angels (I) (2007) User Reviews (75)

atmospheric indie drama

[Buddy-51 · 8/10 · 24 March 2012]

"Snow Angels" starts off as a fairly conventional, angst-ridden indie drama about life in an American small town, but the movie turns into a profoundly moving work after an unexpected tragedy strikes the community.

Director David Gordon Green's screenplay (co-written by Stewart O'Nan) focuses on two disintegrating marriages - one belonging to Annie and Glen Marchand, and the other to Louise and Arthur Parkinson - and the effect the breakups are having on the children and extended families. The people in both groups already seem profoundly unhappy with their lives, but when an unspeakable disaster occurs, things go from bad to worse for all concerned.

"Snow Angels" features insightful writing, sensitive direction and a profound sense of place and season (it takes place in the deep, dark days of a Midwestern winter, though the film itself was filmed in Nova Scotia). It's not an easy movie to watch at times - its emotions wrenching and its characters' weaknesses all too human and recognizable – but excellent performances by Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Jeanetta Arnette, Deborah Allen and Griffin Dunne, among others, make it worthwhile viewing.

Very Good If Depressing

[samkan · 7/10 · 30 September 2008]

The underlying novel and this film stole my planned novel! I live in Northeast Pennsylvania (the film is set in Southwest PA). I'm one of those who threaten, promise, etc., to write a book someday but probably never will. But my main idea was to write about one of the ancient defunct communities that dot the old coal and oil regions of the state.

SNOW ANGELS does a great job at depicting lives in such communities. Especially during that part of the year when the landscape is barren and suicides spike. The profound sense of hopelessness is evident in many of the characters. Those without resources fall into profound despair. Those better off look into themselves. The result is always tragic or counter-productive. Only youth sees promise, has hope, etc.

The film was far from perfect: Rockwell and Beckinsale's story line so dominates that the lives of the other characters become almost a distraction. I doubt that's what the author intended. The climax pays off in intensity but is predictable. But the acting and script are exceptional as is the pacing and mood. For those who think the film lacks plot, the simple depiction of setting and life are story enough.

More snow than angels

[bandw · 6/10 · 28 February 2009]

*Spoilers* Arthur is a high school student working in a Chinese restaurant with Annie who in earlier days was his babysitter. Arthur confesses to having lusted for Annie in those days and you wonder just how old he was when still requiring Annie as a babysitter. Annie has broken up with her husband Glenn who is a suicidal alcoholic, as well as being an agonizingly conflicted evangelical Christian who quotes from the Bible. Glenn is obsessed with getting back with Annie, but she is having an affair with Nate, her best friend's husband. Nate smokes dope and sees other women on the side. Arthur's parents are separating, since his father is having an affair. Arthur is beginning an intimate relationship with classmate Lila.

Too much to digest in one movie you say? I agree. There are several stories here, any one of which might have made a good movie.

This movie does not let up from its foreboding opening that has Arthur's marching band practice interrupted by distant gunshots. From there it spirals downward to the tragic death of a young girl and a ritual murder/suicide. All proceedings take place against a backdrop of cold and snow.

The movie kept my interest but I am puzzled as to what I am supposed to take away from it. Life is messy? Beware of drunks with shotguns? Don't take up with your best friend's spouse? Never nap when alone with a small child? Death is the ultimate repentance?

A well-made movie that always seems "real" but it sure is a depressing one.

[TxMike · 13 October 2009]

The location looks like it could be any Midwest town with a medium sized high school. It is winter, there is snow on the ground, the band is practicing outside for the halftime show of the next football game. We hear what sounds like a gunshot, we don't know from where. The students hear it too. Is it a school shooting?

Then the movie flashes back a couple of weeks and is told in a linear manner, up and then past that point where we hear a shot. The first thing we figure out is there don't seem to be any "faithful" couples. At least we don't see them. The ones we see are fooling around with spouses of friends.

I suppose the best summary is a "slice of life" in a small community, and for the high school kids it is part of their coming of age.

Kate Beckinsale is Annie Marchand, she works in a restaurant and is separated from her husband. They have a small daughter. It seems he has had some emotional issues, received treatment, but still behaves like the kind of guy most people don't want to be around. He is a social misfit, often saying or doing exactly what shouldn't be said or done in the situation. Meanwhile Annie is secretly carrying on with a married man, while her husband seeks to reunite the family.

Sam Rockwell is the husband, Glenn Marchand, and he plays the part very well.

Separate from all this another family is having domestic problems.

Michael Angarano (of 'Sky High' fame) is teenager Arthur Parkinson. He plays trombone, not very well, in the high school band. Seems his mom and dad aren't getting along very well, dad leaves home for a while. Meanwhile Arthur gets to be friends with a new girl at school, Olivia Thirlby as Lila Raybern, and they become young lovers. Interesting dynamic, when his mother one morning realizes he and his girl had spent a night together, she doesn't scold him at all, in fact expresses some amount of envy that he is getting some and she isn't.

Anyway, as well-made and as well-acted as this movie is, when it was over I didn't feel good. I had just witnessed train wrecks where no one comes out of it in good shape. Had I known what all was going to transpire I would not have taken the time to see it. Not my kind of "entertainment", but I grant that some viewers will like it a lot.

MAJOR SPOILERS: As Annie and Glenn are jockeying for position in the strained relationship, Annie wakes up from an unplanned afternoon nap and finds the small daughter missing. The town has everyone, even early dismissed school kids, begin looking for her in a 4-mile radius. Arthur, who as a kid had Annie as a babysitter, found the girl, dead at the edge of a frozen pond. This of course further strained relationships and Glenn went to Annie's house with a shotgun and shells, he waited for her, shot and killed her. Later, as he was driving away in his truck and realizing his life was essentially over, stopped and shot himself through the mouth and brain with piston. As the movie ends we see everyone else in the town just going on with their lives.

Snow Angels Leaves You Cold

[novagarp · 6/10 · 2 January 2009]

Snow Angels is set in a small town in America during a non-specific time. There are few details that define or accentuate time and place. It could be any small town, USA, and for all we know, it could be the present. All we really know is that it is cold and wintertime. Directed by David Gordon Green, Snow Angels is a somber, affecting meditation on sadness and fate, based on the novel written by Stewart O'Nan. It chronicles two weeks in the life of the central characters, whose lives are all connected in some way.

The movie begins with striking images of winter, barren trees and snow. A high school marching band is rehearsing outdoors for the football game. They are lethargic and out of tune. Their instructor chides them, and we here the sound of what might be gunshots in the distance. Everything stops and the story goes back to two weeks prior, where the characters are introduced. We see Arthur (Michael Angarano) the high school student busing tables in a Chinese restaurant. He works with his older friend Annie, played by Kate Beckinsale, the newly separated mother who used to baby-sit for Michael when he was young. Annie gives Arthur a ride home when his mother forgets to pick him up. Arthur's parents, played by Jeanette Arnette and Griffin Dunne, are also going through a separation.

Later we meet Annie's estranged husband Glen, played by Sam Rockwell. Early on we learn that he has had problems with drinking and keeping a job and even tried to take his own life as a result of his life apart from Annie and the baby. Somehow, he survived the suicide and has become a born again Christian, but his stability remains uncertain. We also meet the new student Lila, played by Olivia Thirlby, who befriends Arthur. Lila is the outsider who takes photographs as a hobby. She is on the outside literally peering in, like the audience. Early on, she shows Arthur her photographs of the town. Since her family moves around a lot, she likes to take pictures of her first impressions of the new places she moves to. They are beautiful portraits, all black and white, mostly of them empty landscapes and snow. Coldness and alienation is a constant theme that wraps around the characters to a nearly suffocating extent.

Green's direction is deliberate and slowly paced. The camera rests patiently upon the characters, giving them time to grow and breathe. Even in awkward moments, as there are in the life of a teenager, and in the tension rising moments of the adults who are enduring emotional pain, the shots are long and deliberate, with a quiet, gentle soundtrack that does not try to manipulate or force the action. Green allows the dialog and the performances of the actors drive the story. There is no melodrama, just painfully sad realities.

Snow Angels has the feel of an independent film in its simple story-telling and without bloated production values or faux sentimentality or gimmicky performances. It feels like real life, real people in a real town. The only problem is that it's real, real sad. In fact, it's too sad. Despite the artful direction and nuanced performances, the film itself has little balance, nothing to contrast the heavy weight of angst that smothers the characters as well as the audience. Fargo, (1996), was a similar movie – a tragic tale of human failings, set in a vast, winter of emptiness. And yet, there were many contrasting elements which balanced the mood, such as hilarious dialog and mannerisms, a riveting, driving musical score and shocking, unexpected violence. Many aspects of that film were recognized for achievement in film-making and I believe it even received Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I would also dare say that this movie energized the careers of several of its little known actors and deservedly so, including Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy and Frances McDormand. But Snow Angels provides no such relief from its oppressive tone. I get the feeling that Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale needed an immediate retreat to a warm, tropic island after making this picture, (or at least a few sessions of therapy), and through no fault of their own. Their performances are great, but the movie, over all, leaves you with the need for immediate cleansing or escape, to anywhere that's warm.

Not just a family drama. A full-on tragedy.

[MikeNTxs · 7/10 · 30 December 2019]

For my short review, I'll start by saying that the movie is extremely well done by folks behind and in front of camera, but is not for the faint of heart.

But if you're easily depressed, this is not the film for you.

If you are okay with a very well done slice-of-life tragedy, you may appreciate this story.

For me, it was more than I bargained for, and is unfortunately sticking in my head.

Kate Beckinsale's best movie and a great chunk of life.

[KateB819 · 10/10 · 13 June 2007]

'Snow Angels' is a movie based on a book by Stewart O'Nan. It is directed by David Gordon Green, and stars Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, and Michael Angarano. Rockwell and Beckinsale portray a recently divorced couple with a daughter, who were high school sweethearts. Angarano plays a teenager, who used to be baby-sat by Annie (Beckinsale). The movie follows the lives of several people, including Annie and Glenn (Rockwell), Arthur (Angrano) and his parents, and others as some relationships are built and others are destroyed.

The movie has a strong real-life feeling to it, thanks to great writing by Green and great acting skills by the cast. There are scenes where Annie yells at her child that may seem to be out of place at first glance, but are actually amazing true-to-life ways to express how sometimes parents can lose their tempers with their children. The scenes show how sometimes kids can try to push their parents' buttons, or play their parents against each other without even knowing it.

The acting is absolutely wonderful – the actors show a wide range, from joy to sorrow, and from humor to violent anger. There are times when you love and sympathize with the characters, and there are times when you hate them so much your blood boils – that's how strongly the audience connects to the characters. By the end of the movie, you feel drained, as if you just watched someone you love die.

There were times when the whole audience laughed together, and there were times when the whole audience grew silent in discomfort. The way that this movie consists of laugh-out-loud moments and moments when you just want to tear your heart out and break out a box of tissues is what makes it an outstanding movie. This movie doesn't even have to try to get its audience to love it. The script is chock-full of wit, life at its best and worst, and humor for every generation. The movie left me walking out of the BAM theater smiling and wishing I could watch it again, not wondering why I'd wasted over 10 bucks on a ticket.

The only problem I found with the movie was that its setting was a bit confusing. There were scenes where the characters used cell phones, and others where there were those record players for LPs. But other than that, the movie was flawless.

Beckinsale is at her best here, not only in looks, but in acting range. She took me on another world as I sympathized with her, felt angry at her, felt happy with her, and watched her as her character's story unfolded before my very eyes. This is one of her best movies, and to me it IS her best movie.

10/10, for sure.

Raw & Depressing

[iquine · 6/10 · 6 October 2022]

Makes you realize the importance of making good life choices as these downstream effects are sobering to say the least. The film takes the mundane life of a few small town people and extracts their flaws and brewing emotions. The story follows a divorced woman and her daughter with her mentally troubled ex-husband working his way back into the picture, along with both of their current relationship partners. Additionally, there is a high school boy who works at the restaurant the wife with daughter works as the boy is also awkwardly getting involved with a unique female classmate. This story is a slice of life that contrasts paralleled happiness and sadness within a small-scoped world as it zeroes in on character's relationships. Meaning the film's biggest impact is the acting that evokes the spectrum of emotions through small to large moments. It has an independent and raw feel. The coldness of the winter season is truly felt....especially when the sorrow takes center stage. Looking for pure and subtle acting, take a peek at this film.

Heartbreaking, tragic and sensational.

[dead47548 · 10/10 · 5 July 2008]

In the hands of a less capable director, this devastating tale of loneliness, murder, adultery and budding teenage love could have easily turned into a melodramatic soap opera filled with completely unlikeable characters. However David Gordon Green once again expresses his genius by displaying human characters with real emotions. The film begins and ends with a montage of standard everyday activity in your standard American town, showing that these people aren't in extraordinary circumstances or any different from you or I. They are human, and they are very flawed.

Another genius decision by Green is who he decided to put in the middle of the film. In a story filled with such tragedy, it is surprisingly centered around Arthur (Michael Angarano), a young band member, and his budding romance with quirky new girl Lila (Olivia Thirlby). Their adorable friendship-turned-relationship is so sweet and pleasant that when they are on screen alone you completely forget about the chaos that is surrounding this town. At the beginning of the film we hear two gunshots as the band is preparing their big number for the football game at the end of the week. So from the start we know that this story is destined to end in tragedy. But in these moments with just Arthur and Lila being awkward and cute with one another, expressing their mutual attraction or making love for the first time, Green makes us believe that everything is right in this small town; if only for a moment.

Possibly the biggest story of the film is the destructive relationship of Arthur's co-worker (and former babysitter), Annie (Kate Beckinsale) and her unstable ex-husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell). Annie goes through the entire film taking one hit after another. She has so much on her plate, between raising a child alone, taking care of her mother and her affair with Nate (Nicky Katt) who is coincidentally her best friend's (Amy Sedaris) husband. Slowly everything in her world unravels until a point where she is nothing but an empty vessel of what may have been a happy woman at some point in her life, back when Glenn used to make her life. Glenn himself is an absolute wreck in every aspect of his life. On the surface he appears to be a despicable, hypocritical character who preaches about how Christianity saves him but then falls right back into drinking and neglecting his daughter. However in the writing and in Rockwell's flawless performance he becomes one of the most sympathetic characters I've seen in many years. It's a film filled with real people who keep falling into horrific circumstances.

At the center of the entire film is Green's sensational writing and directing. But his brilliant work would be nothing without the astounding performances from the entire cast. Sam Rockwell is an actor who I admire passionately, but he still managed to surprise me with his portrayal of Glenn. Rarely have I had such an emotional connection with a character to the point where I cry when he does and when he does something that I know is wrong, my stomach clenches in fear of what the consequences will be. His performance is a tour de force and one of the best I've seen this decade. Kate Beckinsale is also surprisingly fantastic. The role is very unflattering and at first glance her angelic beauty seems to be miscast, but she proves that external beauty can be nothing but a cover for someone who is slowly breaking to pieces inside. She is absolutely devastating, and explosive, throughout the film. However the most surprising of the cast is the young Michael Angarano who nails the role of Arthur with a reserved, internal anguish that is barely let out on the surface but is always clearly dwelling underneath. It's a trait that I could relate so well with and I was amazed at how well he captured this performance. Olivia Thirlby, one of my favorite young actresses, is also phenomenal as the unique, adorable young photographer who gets Angarano to fall for her; it's easy to see why.

As almost everyone says, Snow Angels is an incredibly difficult film to watch, but one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. Everyone who contributes in the film is at the very top of their game and it combines for something unlike anything I've ever seen. Green is clearly one of the most passionate directors working today; he refuses to add a flare or flashy style to his films but in doing so makes his intimate relationship with his characters instantly recognizable. He is a man who cares so deeply about the people he is putting on the screen that he refuses to let anyone label them or imply anything about them. This film is many things; a tragedy, a tale of young love, a display of flawed human beings falling apart in a small town. Ultimately though, to me, it's a story of loneliness. Green shows early on that no matter what you have in your life, everyone is instinctively lonely. By the end he proves that without love or friendship, life can fall apart to results that you would never dream possible.

Indie veteran Green unifies multi-plot relationship drama with excellent subtlety

[Movie_Muse_Reviews · 7/10 · 17 August 2009]

For yet another indie relationship drama without a straightforward plot and more than one central character, David Gordon Green makes something of a quiet masterpiece out of "Snow Angels," based on the 1994 book by Stewart O'Nan. Although the film begins with us overhearing two gun shots and then backing up to show us their origin, "Snow Angels" takes a long time to develop its conflict, which puts pressure on Green to keep our attention. He does so fairly well, using convincing realism to set his characters and audience up for the tragedy that follows.

Green, whose previous credits are also of the independent tragedy vein, has a way of self- referencing the story through visuals that interconnect the film's many sub-plots. Taking place in a small town where it's incredibly cold (it's snowing during football season), a high school student named Arthur (Michael Angarano) deals with his parents' separation and the new girl, Lila, (Olivia Thirlby) who he doesn't realize is completely into him. In the Chinese restaurant where he works, his former babysitter Annie (Kate Beckinsale) is living the tough life of a single mother whose ex (Sam Rockwell) is a born-again Christian battling a drinking problem that wants to get his family back together.

The stories connect structurally in that they both deal with divided families, but one really admirable quality about it is that Green will take an image or something that a character talks about in one sub-plot and manifest it in another. In one scene, Arthur talks about using his mother's hand mirror when he was younger to peep under the door when Annie was babysitting him and taking a shower. Later, Rockwell's character Glenn is seen holding a hand mirror.

This technique really helps unify the story in a way that the plot never really does. "Snow Angels" is collectively about the familial ideal, of wanting things in love and family to work out and trying to make amends for the mistakes that harm it while battling one's own personal feelings and desires. The drama comes from the Annie-Glenn story line and that's supposed to influence how we think about what's going on with Arthur and his family and his girlfriend, which is the more realistic and conflict-free part of the story.

There's also a good deal of pressure on the actors when the conflict is really only coming from one source in a multi-plot story. Angarano and Thirlby play wonderful innocent kids falling for each other, but the true talent in the film is Rockwell. His character is the most troubled and the most complex, the one who really drives the conflict by not leaving Annie and their young daughter alone and trying to fight Annie's new boyfriend. He convinces you that he's worthy of a second chance, but then fails to meet your expectations. It's a role that requires him to be completely committed to a flawed point of view and Rockwell nails it.

Films without focused and attention-grabbing plots don't often get bonus points, but Green wins about as much of them there are for drawing out some important questions and meaning from the relationship drama of the film. The realism with which he portrays these characters, their softness and fragility, makes them intriguing enough for us to watch carefully so we can understand what it is that really makes their story a tragedy. ~Steven C

Visit my site at http://moviemusereviews.blogspot.com

beyond boring and depressing.

[robengle · 3/10 · 25 March 2008]

The only enjoyable thing about seeing this movie is to watch Michael Angarano's performance. Clearly he is a talented actor with a bright future. Other than that we, in the theater, jointly agreed... "what was the point and why do these movies get made". As the viewer we are tossed into this dismal, depressing world of rural PA. and left there to wonder... why don't these people seek some therapy & get some help... maybe try to move up the food chain. Why, I wondered, were these people stalled in this life, how did they get there, why aren't they leaving? And then all I could wonder was why should I care? No one in this movie shows any compassion why should the audience? The direction is limited, the story convoluted, and the Art Direction clearly without budget (They couldn't even afford to change the light switches). Not to mention the snow... non melting fake snow... gross. I hope Sam Rockwell spends some time choosing his next project as well as Griffin Dunne (what is he doing here). These guys are great actors stuck in a boring story. A story/life most people are trying to escape, and by escape I don't mean murder suicide. lastly I wish when people are determined to kill themselves in a murder suicide that they take care of the suicide part first. See something else. R

Hard to watch but worth paying the price

[larry-411 · 10/10 · 21 January 2007]

"Snow Angels" is a glimpse in time of several relationships, some simmering and ready to boil, others cooling down, and at least one whose flame has yet to be lit. It's also a thriller, with a gunshot that is heard as the film opens. The narrative is linear but writer/director David Gordon Green, adapting the novel by Stewart O'Nan, takes the couples' stories and interweaves them in such a way that we never quite know all the secrets at the heart of the mystery. The film flashes back as we try to see how we got from there to here. In many ways the overriding theme deals with the promise of what once was versus the reality of what could have been. The "reality" is embodied in the relationships which are falling apart, as evident in the older couples. The "promise" is represented by the young couple whose lives are just beginning.

At the heart of the film is the crumbling relationship between Sam Rockwell as Glenn and Kate Beckinsale as Annie. We watch Glenn almost literally disintegrating before our eyes as he tries to get a grip on who he is and why his marriage is failing. Glenn is one of the most frightening characters I've seen outside of horror films. Kate Beckinsale's Annie is breathtaking, in every sense of the word. We bear witness to a life in free fall as everything and everyone she loves seems just out of reach. You know those dreams where you can't quite get to where you want? You try to touch it but it stays at arm's length? That's Annie's world. We so painfully watch as the madness around her takes its toll, and she weathers the way rain erodes rich topsoil, leaving little but rocky dirt underneath. Amy Sedaris is Annie's best friend Barb. She has her own marital fires to put out, and the relationship between Annie and Barb progresses in a way nobody can imagine. She is a joy to watch. In the midst of the darkness there are some lighter moments as well, and Michael Angarano (Arthur Parkinson), Olivia Thirlby (Lila Raybern), and Connor Paolo (Warren) have the lion's share of them. They are essentially the light in the darkness that surrounds the rest of the film. It should be no surprise to fans of Angarano that writer/director David Gordon Green would have chosen him to play Arthur Parkinson. He's not yet comfortable in his own skin, a trait which could describe most adolescents. He's a bit shy, nervous, and even nerdy, yet he is charming enough that everyone else seems drawn to him even though he doesn't seem to be aware of it. As Arthur's muse, Olivia Thirlby's Lila is the female representation of those awkward teenage years and an almost equal counterpart to Michael's Arthur. Their tender tiptoeing around each other is one of the most touching depictions of first love I've seen in cinema. Connor, as Arthur's best friend Warren, provides some much needed comic relief. He is a smart-ass whose ego often backfires. He's funny and not quite as smart as he thinks he is. Among other standout performances is Griffin Dunne (Don) as Arthur's flighty dad. Or should we say father, not really the "Dad" that Arthur wants or needs him to be, but the boy clings to him in this critical time of life when he is most in need of a male role model. But he won't find one here. It's this failure to connect which climaxes in an exchange between them that gave me chills. It was a jaw-dropping moment.

So much of the film is frightening that, as Green said in the Q&A afterward, he had to find actors who could infuse some humor into their characters, otherwise it would be too heavy. All around me were glistening eyes and tissues wiping away tears. At its heart it is a sad story and the audience was hushed at the end. Many have wondered how much of the film is David Gordon Green's adaptation as opposed to the Stewart O'Nan novel on which it is based. Green did discuss this at length in the Q&A. After reading the book, he knew he had to make it into a film. But he also immediately knew that it would have to be heavily adapted. The more he wrote the more he realized just how much would really have to come from his own hand. The impression I got was that what we see on screen is much more David's work than maybe even he had initially anticipated.

Jeff McIlwain and David Wingo's score is haunting, as is the film. It is used sparsely, only to punctuate the dramatic moments, as the subject matter is weighty enough that it didn't need much augmentation. It's used efficiently and effectively. The film is visually stunning. No surprise here, as it was shot by Green's longtime collaborator Tim Orr. His work is unmistakable -- gutters dripping, swings on a swing set, clouds, contrails, aluminum siding -- you can always tell his work. He sees language in shapes and movement of inanimate objects. He then connects them to the action in the story, often with a wink and a nod. Blink and you might miss it. The beautiful winter landscape of Nova Scotia gives him a palette from which he can choose many colors. The juxtaposition of Orr's beautiful photography with the horrors David Gordon Green exposes us to in "Snow Angels" is nothing short of genius.

This is a true work of art, to which many filmmakers aspire. Few hit the mark. I'm not sure if that's what David Gordon Green was trying to do here, but he did it nonetheless. There is little doubt in my mind that this is a film which will make you think about the innocence of youth and how fleeting it is, and make you wonder if it has to be that way.

only one weak point

[harlock-10 · 7/10 · 13 December 2008]

I have never been impressed with Kate Beckinsale as an actress, and her acting in this movie adds more proof to my assumptions. My wife and I watched it together and neither of us bought her performance, especially when she was "emoting". Her entire performance felt forced, except when she was sitting on the table talking to Arthur in the Kitchen of the restaurant. Aside from that, she didn't come close to the reality and pain that the other actors brought to their roles.

Sad.

Sam Rockwell's performance was stunning, as was Michael Angarano's. He will do great things. Rockwell already is.

I found morbidly fascinating the small town reality of woven lives, everyone knowing everyone, and the effects their decisions and actions have on one another. Having grown up in a smallish town like that, I understood the feeling, and found it eerily resonant.

Sad.

Pointless and depressing slices of life

[lance24 · 3/10 · 15 March 2008]

The first thing I said to my friend, who has worked in the movie business for 30 years, after we exited the theater, was "What was this movie about?" I still don't know. Here's what I do know. You won't see a more depressing movie this year and, as the film lacks any meaning, you won't find a more fatal combo. This ensemble piece would have us believe that every adult living in the small town in which the film takes place, has nothing but problems causing endless unhappiness. Story primarily follows Beckinsale and Rockwell, high school sweetheats, who are now separated. Rockwell is a totally unlikable character who moves between alcoholism, depression, self-hatred and religious foibles. I could never figure out why Beckinsale was with him. She's the type of girl who always escapes this small town dreariness and winds up in LA or NY, usually on the arm of some millionaire. That being said, anyone paying the slightest attention could even see the tragic end coming from the first or second scene. Also, the happy relationship between the two teenagers gives us a hopeful ending that contradicted everything else in the film and was dishonest. The only thing we could reasonably expect is that they, too, would wind up as unhappy as every adult in this picturesque, yet miserable town. The acting was the only thing that saved the film from being a total disaster. Sometimes I wonder whether the indie film movement exists so that films like this can get made. While it is true that some of the great films of the last 20 years have come out of the indie scene, there needs to be some limits on uber-depressing films that illuminate nothing more than misery. Don't be misled by some of the comments that you've read on this site and elsewhere. A total bummer.

Superb

[ametaphysicalshark · 23 September 2008]

David Gordon Green is the most talented and consistently excellent American director to emerge this decade, making a splash he has yet to equal with "George Washington" in 2000, and gaining further recognition with the acclaimed, painfully true-to-life relationship drama "All the Real Girls". Sadly, his follow-up to "All the Real Girls", the outstanding "Undertow" failed to register with critics, and "Snow Angels", although better received, came and went without causing much buzz. Green's first major studio job, stoner action-comedy "Pineapple Express" was a big hit, and taken along with his unrelentingly grim "Snow Angels" shows the director attempting to move past his small-scale independent films which initially garnered so much acclaim for him.

"Snow Angels" is another drama from David Gordon Green, true, but it is also still different from his other films in the sense that it is his most tragic film and also his most narratively-focused (his previous films were far more lyrical). Here he's also dealing with sorts of characters he only touched on previously, and it's also (if you don't count his collaborative effort on "Undertow") his first screenplay adapted from another person's work. I have not read the novel "Snow Angels", but I doubt there is any detail, no matter how painful, which Gordon Green didn't unflinchingly transfer to the screen.

Although I enjoyed "All the Real Girls" a lot, I found that whenever the film was not focusing on the two leads it lost its edge and became a rather mundane, typical sort of film, with few truly interesting characters aside from the main two. "Snow Angels", perhaps partially due to it being an adaptation, doesn't fail to create interesting (although certainly not sympathetic) characters out of every last major player in this film. The story connects a teenager who is falling in love, his former babysitter, her estranged husband, and their daughter in an involving, focused narrative which is never exactly unpredictable but is always absorbing and deeply, deeply affecting. It's not an enjoyable film, exactly (at least the final hour isn't), but it is hypnotic, it is stunningly, stunningly well-directed and photographed by David Gordon Green and frequent collaborator Tim Orr, respectively (there are certain shots which are too beautiful to put into words), and I was absolutely transfixed for the entirety of this film.

Another film in what Nathan Lee (formerly) of the Village Voice terms the 'familiar turf of the Small-Town Midwinter Tragedy', which Lee insists the film transcends, "Snow Angels" is right up there with "The Sweet Hereafter" and Paul Schrader's "Affliction" (I was even surprised to find that Russell Banks wasn't the author of the novel this was based on), and for my money better than those two films. I quite like the Small-Town Midwinter Tragedy as a sub-genre, so I'm not going to say that this doesn't fall under that label, but I will say that "Snow Angels" achieves a sort of real, honest drama that can only come through true insight into the characters (in an interview with the Onion A.V. Club Gordon Green stated that this was a very personal project, and it shows), and a real understanding of them. In that sense it goes far beyond most tragedies (the vast majority are shallow, miserable, soulless tearjerkers, no matter how far back in history you look), and although it's unpleasantly dark and grim, there is humanity to the film, mostly observed through the young couple in love (these scenes are somewhat reminiscent of "All the Real Girls", only without the complications), which really elevates this beyond your typical downbeat film, as ultimately devastating and depressing as it is.

The film would be nothing without the performances, and as someone who couldn't have cared less for Kate Beckinsale before seeing this, I now think this was easily the best female performance of the year so far. If the Academy didn't require extensive lobbying for a film to get a nomination, Beckinsale would almost certainly be up for Best Actress come early 2009. The rest of the cast are excellent too, in particular Sam Rockwell, who may annoy a lot of viewers with his performance in this film, but it is absolutely necessary for the character to work, and is eerily reminiscent of someone I used to know, and all the more effective for it.

I don't want to see this film again for a long, long time, and in this case that's a good thing.

9/10

Makes no sense

[janschbern · 6/10 · 20 November 2010]

This film is one full of tragedy, sadness, loss - a bit of humour, found love, lost love, meaning of life and questions of why people are the way the are - or are not. One of the characters explains that when trouble comes, she hides. Her advice is not to be like she is. But she makes no effort to explain how to do this. There is much about broken relationships, damaged resonsibilites, of who is right or wrong. Life goes on, so the saying goes. But, it doesn't go on the way people think it should or hope it would. This film is fraught with some of the most annoying characters to ever fill the wide screen. There is no real explanation for their accumulated anger - just that they are angry. Each of the most angry are shown having times of complete calm and reason. At other times, they explode in anger - to the point of verbal or other violence. Makes no sense. The question is why? Are they all nuts? Do they all hate each other so much - or is it the semi-nasty weather? Who knows. Sam Rockwell seems to be regularly good at playing over the top characters. He does fine here. But, its all over the top. Its plain annoying - and it doesn't make a bit of sense, in my humble opinion. The others, principals and supporting, at least seem to have reason. But, the huge outbursts don't necessarily hold. As I said, it makes little sense, in my humble opinion. Others may see some great tragedy in all that develops. There are some cute scenes between two characters which act as counterpoint to all the meanness. And the scenes of the marching band that can't march add some lightness. In the end, this is a mediocre film, often slow, often boring. The resolutions to the various human conflicts come as no surprises. A film well worth avoiding.

Review: Snow Angels

[bloodymonday · 7/10 · 7 November 2008]

Watching Snow Angel is such a downer, it's a sad film that can left you feel pretty devastated. But watching sad film is not necessary going to be a bad experience. Look what happened to last year's There Will be Blood and No Country for Old Man, they achieved greatness in each of their own way. But can Snow Angel follow the same footstep?

I think I get the point what the director; David Gordon Green was trying to make. He wants to show us a stage in human's relationship. At first, we saw young couple meet and their love began to blossom. Next, we saw married couple on the verge of braking up. Next, a different couple was in a middle of reconciliation. And finally we saw a two people at the dead end, and one of them decided to do some unexpected thing as a last resort. In this film, path of four couples kept crossing each other (but not necessary interacting), and we are one who's going to be an observer.

But getting the point not necessary means that I feel appreciated by it, because most of these characters seem to be poorly developed. There are 8 or more characters that DGG wants us to pay attention for. He tried to achieve what Robert Altman did in his entire career. But since he is not (yet) the man himself, it's might be a little bit over his head for now. And what we have here is a complete main story of Annie and Glenn (Kate & Sam), and three other side stories that will make people satisfied only an outcome. It might be OK if this was intended for a story of two human being, but since he obviously aimed for a bigger proportion, it's real shame that he didn't do them justice.

Perhaps this is not exactly David Gordon Green's territory. George Washington, his break out directorial effort (which I have yet to see), tell a story of group of children in small town. All the Real Girls is an unconventional love story of young couple. It seems he is an expert in exploring what's going on in his generation's mind. But with Snow Angel, it looks like he tried to explore adult's mind for the first time. And I think the story of Michael Angarano and Olivia Thirlby is very cute and comfortable (and belong to his touch), but it really need some turning point, since there's nothing to be found, it did nothing significant to the main story at all.

After she went out killing a bunch of vampires and werewolves, it's always nice to see Kate did some small film. It maybe not the greatest acting I've ever seen, but it's competent enough to make me feel bad for her (in the mean time, I kind of feel that she deserves it). Especially the scene when she received the most horrify news, I was expected to see she does all "Oscar Moment" (which require a lot of screaming and moaning), but instead she just went out to be alone and sobbed. That's surprised me and makes me admire her choice at the same time.

For the answer of that first paragraph; I would say yes and no. Even though this is a well-perceived character-driven drama, but lack of focus in storytelling and unsatisfied closure left me feel pretty cold. Be that as it may, although that erupt ending made a lot of people scratching their head (including me), but it finally made me realize what the meaning of it. It means nothing. Something horrible happened, but people who affected by it didn't have to stop doing what they usually do, life must goes on. Suddenly, it made me feel privilege to see what's going on in their daily life.

An Absolute Gem!

[pegasus3 · 9/10 · 5 April 2008]

SNOW ANGELS is a absolute gem! It is an example of a small scale indie that is as near perfect as I could have imagined. All throughout the movie, I was reminded of a line from the poet W. B. Yeats…………"things fall apart, the center will not hold." The film is a complete recreation of this concept in visual terms. With the exception of the two young high school lovers, everyone's worlds in SNOW ANGELS is slowly but surely disintegrating, and ultimately it gets very dark. But all along the way it is so beautiful. The acting is superb, the photography is compelling, and the editing technique, I found, was expert, continually dramatizing the story by powerful visual cuts. I don't know why some reviewers have complained about Kate Beckinsale's beauty as being out of place in the film's setting, a criticism that makes no sense whatsoever to me. She is wonderful in the film and seemed so right for the part. The fact that she has a very natural beauty only enhanced her role both realistically and symbolically. Sam Rockwell's performance I found extraordinary. His past roles have always reflected a broad range and the character he plays in this film may well be one of his very best. This is a movie that carefully and honestly dissects dysfunctional lives in a small, insulated world. What was so amazing to me was the film's ability to create a combination of a storyline being so very sad and bleak while at the same time that storyline's expression being so beautifully and artistically realized. Also, I don't know when I have seen such a honest exploration of young teenage love as the portraits Green draws of the young boy and girl, Arthur and Lila. The two young actors are marvelous as well and their relationship gives the film the necessary lift above and beyond the despairing tragedy of the story.

Nice, DGG.

[donqt · 7/10 · 12 April 2008]

A fine effort from the maturing DGG. It's strange to see him working with "name" actors - and maybe a bit sad. On the other hand, it's great that the actors want to work with him.

KB did a find job of acting, but I'm not sure that she was the best person for the part. She's a little too pretty, maybe. And, dare I say it, she doesn't class down that well (even compared to Nicole Kidman). It hurts me to to say that.

The walk in the woods is a nice reference to the short that DGG found (see George Washington - DVD for more) as a film student.

And Nicky Katt. There should be some sort of alert. To all who enter here, beware Nicky Katt resides. I don't trust that guy.

Class-wise, I think that it's important to look at all of DGG's movies before making any conclusions about his feelings about the blue collar. George Washington had a surfeit of promise. This movie is well made, but it's not living up to the original potential.

Powerful, simple. unforgettable.

[bobsgrock · 10/10 · 15 May 2010]

For some, the best type of films are those that are character-based: there is no action sequences, no huge stunts or explosions. Rather, there is a story that unfolds and is filled with quiet moments as well as more rambunctious ones that never go over the top into farce. Here, writer/director David Gordon Green handles strong and intense material, yet creates a moving and unforgettable piece of film-making that I will not soon forget.

In the same vein as American Beauty, Ordinary People and Little Children, this film explores the simple, everyday lives of people just trying to exist as best they can. People work at jobs they don't like, struggle to relate to their children, each other and themselves, and in this case deal with some unbelievable situations. In whatever case, Green keeps just the right amount of difference at the right time and then shoves it in our face exactly when we need it.

To assist him is the cast, which is uniformly excellent in its performances. Kate Beckinsale needs to concentrate on serious films after this really sharp and heartbreaking role as Annie, a single woman struggling to cope with her daughter who she doesn't truly understand and her estranged husband who she regrets not being able to fix her relationship with. The husband, Glenn, is played by Sam Rockwell in I think the film's best performance. Glenn is a struggling alcoholic who also is devoutly religious and the way he attempts to correlate the two elements is both cringing and stunning. The most effective relationship in the film is that between two high school students played by Michael Anagarano and Olivia Thirlby. How sweet and wonderful it is to see two people that truly seem to love, or at least trust, each other in order to have support for their problems. Here, Green seems to be teaching by showing that even young people can and do understand the seriousness and complexity of real relationships.

As I said before, this is a very sad film with most of the sadness directed at Annie and Glenn. What is even more sad is that they try to overcome their shortcomings by digging deeper holes. This is a film that evokes great empathy and you want to reach out to these people, knowing they are going to do something regrettable. One thing not regrettable is watching this film, which is simply-told, very powerful and forever unforgettable.

A self examination

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 4 June 2023]

(2006) Snow Angels PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA

Adapted from a novel by Stewart O'Nan, co-written and directed by David Gordon Green which starts off with a snowy climate on a suburban town, a marching band is seen playing for a school football team with several bystanders/ spectators on the bleachers until shots were heard from afar and the film dwells one week before that happened. Starring Kate Beckinsale as the single mother and Sam Rockwell as her ex with Amy Sedaris as the co-worker. What this film does succeed in doing is that it at times make us examine our own lives and the movie is involving in that aspect of it and that is only on the first three fourths of it and quite well done. However, after this whatever unfortunate incident happened, the response regarding the father is unrealistic.

The Consequences of Class - Spoiler

[theaugustgirl · 1/10 · 23 March 2008]

In neither the promotional description -- "a story of love lost and found....a heartrending portrayal of three couples in various stages of life" -- nor in some of the love letters disguised as reviews would a viewer have a sense of what an unrelenting and monotone descent into tragedy something as innocently and mysteriously titled as "Snow Angels" is. This is a film not to be watched but endured.

What is far more glaringly apparent and transparent is not the muted themes of age or love as much as it is the story of how problems do or do not work out, depending on where you fall in the food chain. These are not just couples distinguishably different because of their ages. Making an equal comparison to the a single, working class mother who waitresses at a family restaurant and the unstable, unemployed working class man she is married to the young boy she babysat and his parents who reside in quite a different social status with a remarkably different home, lifestyle and set of choices, is simply myopic.

At the end of day and the end of the film, there really is only one "heartrending" message in this bleak and didactic lecture on the "misfit toys" who populate the working class: that the "White Trash," single parenting contingent caught in the cycle of meaningless service jobs with no opportunity for real mental health and counseling intervention other than what comes in crisis as during an arrest) must dutifully accept the ineluctable Jerry Springeresque set of consequences they deserve and let the Greek tragedy of their lives run its course. Meanwhile, the affluent are afforded slow motion long shots and wide smiles and the fulfillment of their desires complete with the soundtrack and dramatic (stadium) lighting of a Hollywood ending.

Green's statement on class and consequences is either an intentional transmission or an inadvertently overt broadcast signal to the viewer. Whatever the case, I'd like to believe some other set of possibilities and some other message about the consequences of class than this film so subversively and dangerously proffers like a morality play.

There are good people Snow Angels

[jaredmobarak · 9/10 · 19 April 2008]

This film is quite fantastic; a character study of a small town and the everyday craziness that can happen in it. From the trailer, one will understand that this will be a very deep story, culminating into some dark event that will serve as a catalyst for either growth or degeneration for those involved. Green, however, never takes the easy road to show us a conventional lead-up to said occurrence. Instead he commences our journey into the town with a lengthy portion of the comedic mundanity of life. We begin to understand these characters and their relationships with one another; we are thrust into their lives while they have all reached a crossroads of faith and find themselves on the cusp of either taking a step forward or a giant leap back. The familiarity greatly increases the emotional impact of the climatic tragedy that serves to push them all to their breaking point. It's a slow boil to utter devastation and it is handled to perfection.

A lot is going on character-wise and it all is intertwined together. Unlike most pieces of this nature lately, Snow Angels allows each role to exist individually while also having a cursory connection to the rest. They don't walk into each other's lives in contrived ways for the sake of the script. These are real people, in close proximity, that inquire about and interact with others in their hometown much like you do in real life. A high school trombone player named Arthur is our central entry point into the tale as he touches the most people along the journey. He works at a restaurant with Annie, who was also his babysitter and an early crush many years previously (leading to a nice scene of the two reminiscing in the backroom now that they are both older), as well as her friend Barb. Glenn becomes involved through his marriage with Annie and their daughter Tara while the new girl in school Lila begins a relationship with Arthur to enter herself into the tale. Everyone's parents ask about the others in more of a polite manner than anything else. They all know each other and try to stay on top of things despite any real caring. I think at least three people ask how Annie's mother is doing, not because they want to know, but because it is what neighbors do. You have a stake in the lives of those around you because you are all involved in a community. It may be a tenuous bond, but it is a bond nonetheless; one that may connect you moreso than you might have thought.

Green really allows his audience to find their own bond with the people on screen. We begin to feel for Glenn as he tries to pick the pieces of his life back up off the ground. A man chased by the demons of alcohol, he has all but lost his wife and keeps only a thin hold on his daughter after attempting to kill himself, before finding God. He is a man that means well, but might not have the capacity to endure what is happening around him as his wife is seeing someone else and still holds a small fear of him and his actions. You hope that Glenn can stay on the right path, but as you watch him continue on through everything you begin to wonder if he can. Credit Sam Rockwell with this because he is absolutely amazing. Always relegated to be the funny guy, Rockwell shows the range he had starring in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind with a devastating role. One can't praise him enough.

We connect to the others as well through their strong performances. Michael Angarano is great as Arthur, growing into an adult and experiencing things that he may not be ready for. Finding his first girlfriend in Lila, (a nice turn from Olivia Thirlby), he must also confront the past; a selfish father leaving and returning what he sees fit into his wife and son's lives, (Griffin Dunne in a well portrayed bit); and the death that has gotten strong in the air. Kate Beckinsale, as Annie, shows that she can act when not wearing tight leather in vampire films, going through the biggest changes of everyone with her mother to care for, the return of her husband, an affair with Nicky Katt's Nate, and the responsibilities of being a mother.

True the actors are the real shining grace here, but Green deserves praise for their work and that of the aesthetic look on display. The final act tends to drag in parts as it leads to the inevitable conclusion, but that is the only blemish from the whole. His compositions are stunning with many scenes standing out. When Dunne and Angarano are walking and talking at the father's campus, Green chooses to continue panning left even as they have stopped, not lingering on their final words but instead the void left empty in front of them as they are stalled figuratively and metaphorically in their relationship with one another. Along with instances like that, we are treated to multiple close-ups of people and objects throughout, whether it be the marching band conductor's speech or the camera that Lila takes around with her. Green has deft control on the proceedings, infusing the right amount of light humor to diffuse the darkness deep within the town. Tragedy affects everyone differently, showing some the futility of life and others the preciousness of it. It is a tough thing to lose a child, either through divorce, death, or complacency and Green puts it all on display to see whether his characters can continue on or fall forever from grace.

Shakespearean

[fmwongmd · 7/10 · 3 June 2019]

I liked the dimly lit dance scene at the bar and the inexorable movement to Shakespearean tragedy. Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale portrayals were outstanding.

Much Ado About Nothing.

[supadude2004 · 3/10 · 12 September 2008]

A movie rated over 7/10 should at least be worth watching. Stuffed to its seams with idiots this world may be, but there is often, at least, a fair chance that a movie rated over 7 is worth one's time. Agreed? Well... not so here.

From its very beginnings, S.A. is mired in a claustrophobic narrative progression, devoid of any definitive development from which it never quite recovers thanks to its perfectly listless screenplay.

In this very movie we are told at some point that: "sometimes we do things we can't explain." Indeed, having watched this movie in its entirety, you'll probably be saying the same of your time spent trying to work out why anyone bothered going to the trouble of making a motion picture from such a rambling, pointless and ultimately disengaging collection of takes - all bundled together under one bi-worded title.

Unfortunately, for us - the movie's hapless viewers... S.A. is a plodding exercise in banality punctuated at random/uneven points throughout its duration by certain potentially salient observations and events, that the viewer might believe are central to the plot of the movie; such as "that guy is weird", or "a child shouldn't be left in the car like a dog", or "hey, I was just thinking we should go out because I've a new job" etc. In most movies such a comment might form the basis for some plot steering. But not so here... For each time such happens, the viewer may at first think that finally he's found something which is core to the screenplay and might disengage his mind from staring repeatedly at his watch to concentrate on events which might just promise to deliver some form of entertainment. Yet each time, the viewer is soon after left disappointed by an incessant directorial return to the same plodding nothingness which permeates throughout this movie's screenplay. For this is a movie which teases far more than it ever delivers.

That being said, the acting is mostly very good which is in perfect contrast to S.A.'s bland screenplay. The movie is stuffed full of realistic and plausible dialogue for which the viewer need not suspend belief for a moment. It's all boringly too real in fact. To someone who needs a movie which requires almost no suspension of belief - well... here is your movie - except that watching a motley bunch of forgettable characters and rambling takes is not exactly my idea of fun, nor time well spent.

Of all the movies I'v watched this would definitely be in my top 10 of those where it would be almost impossible to say something about it which could possibly spoil the enjoyment of someone who has yet to see it. For so much happens of such little consequence between so many people, that it all ultimately amounts to nothing but a waste of the viewer's time in trying to concentrate on same.

If this is some people's idea of 'exciting' or even 'engaging' watching, I dare to say that such persons are very much mistaken. What a waste of time - unless, that is, you have a very boring life! Admittedly, there might even have been some interesting moments in this meandering & pointless movie, but it's almost as if anything with the slightest potential to be interesting was just glossed over by the director in the race to put the next scene before the viewer's eyes. How not to make a movie: 3/10