Review of Snow Angels (2007) by Patrick H — 10 Oct 2008

This is David Gordon Green's finest film, in addition to being one of the best films of the year. It all begins at a marching band practice out on the football field as Arthur (Michael Angarano) hears gunshots in the distance.

Then we are flashed back to a few weeks earlier and find to what lead to the shots. Arthur's father and mother are having marrital problems but none as bad as the central couple of the film, Annie (Kate Beckinsale) and Glenn (Sam Rockwell).

Annie used to baby-sit Arthur and she works with him in a local restarant. She is having an affair with the husband of one of her co-workers (Amy Sedaris). Glenn is estranged from his wife and is trying to find another job as he battles his alcoholism.

However, the movie finds the right time for an evolving romance between Arthur and a transfer student named Lila (Olivia Thirlby). It is so sweet and honest, that you almost forget what is going on in the lives of everyone else.

Around halfway through the film, something awful happens and it creates a very dark tone for the rest of the film. However, despite the fact that the event is a tragic one, Green has more than enough smarts to balance it with a sense of hope.

With that incident, the lives of all the characters are changed forever. Despite the downbeat material, it is actually a very uplifting film. The cast is uniformally excellent: Michael Angarano and Olivia Thirlby are two of the most appealing high school students I've seen in a while, not in terms of how they look but how they act and talk like normal teens.

Kate Beckinsale is astonishing because this is her first indie role and she plays it with such conviction, you never feel as if she's phoning it in. She has real talent and she is more than qualified if she were to do more dramatic roles.

Sam Rockwell is also very good, maybe a little too drunk at times. I also admire the direction of David Gordon Green: he seems to have a real sense of a small town or neighborhood. I look forward to his next film.

A must-see.