Review of Snow Angels (2007) by Chris V — 26 Sep 2008

To use a big word, the oeuvre of some filmmakers can be truly confounding. Two days ago I reviewed Pineapple Express, a shoe-in to be one of my least favorite films of 2008. It was directed by one David Gordon Green. Tonight I'm reviewing Snow Angels, a shoe-in to be one of my few must-see films of 2008. Three guesses who directed it; the first two don't count. This is a tremendously powerful film with almost no similarities whatsoever to that Apatow disaster: it's a somber, brooding, gloomy affair with genuine pathos spilling from virtually every frame. It's not the sort of thing that's easy to take, but it's one that leaves you shaken and haunted for a long time afterward.

The film's influences are pretty easy to pinpoint, and while in general I'm not the hugest fan of the whole "small town tragedy" framework, Green uses it to shattering effect here. To say more would be to give away things that I don't want to: much of the film's magic comes from watching the events unspool, getting to know the characters, and seeing what leads them to do the things they ultimately do. This is a fine, fine film. (Also, it should be said that Kate Beckinsale in particular is a revelation here: far from just the pretty face she played in the Underworld films, she shows she is capable of a high degree of dramatic acting. The film would be hugely diminished had her character been given a weak performance, but she nails it.).