Review of Snow Angels (2007) by Michael C — 27 May 2009

David Gordon Green, director of last year's comedy hit Pineapple Express, is usually better known as the auteur behind very thought-provoking and involving indie dramas; his film previous to Pineapple Express, Snow Angels, was such a film, and it was a truly engrossing account of several characters in a snowy setting who encounter coming of age, acceptance of sins, and loss in this somewhat isolated setting.

The whole film carries a highly somber tone; the characters all feel very alone even when they are in the presence of other people, and the snowy, chilly setting adds to the fact that the warmth the characters seemed to once have has melted away.

Sam Rockwell in particular was fascinating to watch; his portrayal of a husband separated from his spouse and being both desperate and pathetic in his attempts to reclaim her love was heartbreaking to watch for most of the film, even when his actions ventured into the realm of despicable.

Kate Beckinsale looks both beautiful and exhausted through the entire film as his exhausted wife who is having an affair, and young child actor Michael Angarano was terrific as a young man whose steps towards adulthood are mirrored against his observations of the dissolving life of his former babysitter.

A film that is at turns tense, threatening, but never dull, it is a great piece of film.