Snow Angels (2007)

It is a performances centric movie

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

A sad and a hard movie. And the full extent of its heaviness you will realize not during the watching, but after that. A heart heaviness doesn't leave fast enough. This film is mainly about human or family relationships, about giving another a chance to be forgiven, the ability to ask for forgiveness. About a bunch of things that come up from the relations between people. And those items we call 'life'. Sam Rockwell (my applause) and Kate Beckinsale did amazing performances (maybe the best roles too) and at their best, revealing a many-sided personality of the characters. Playing a his character Rockwell shows us his great acting talent and being a master of many-sided personality.

Yes. 2007's "Snow Angels" is easily one of the most potent and realistic dramas ever filmed. The story is about a handful of ordinary couples, young and older, in a NE hamlet at winter time (filmed in Nova Scotia). Some criticize that the film is depressing but it's inaccurate to say that the WHOLE movie is depressing. Nor does the film leave the viewer in a totally depressed state. There's a lot of beauty and hope amidst the shadows and darkness; and it left me pondering many things, including the numerous real-life people the characters remind me of. Certainly one storyline is tragic and depressing, but that's not the whole focus of the story (altough it is the dominant focus). The film is about romantic relationships in various stages and whether they're successful or not depending upon their responses to the inevitable crises & temptations of life:(No major spoilers here; just general plot revelations) Arthur and Lila's high school relationship is just budding and seems healthy and promising. - Glenn and Annie's relationship has been devastated by Glenn's alcoholism and anger/obsession issues; Annie wants to move on but foolishly chooses to have an affair with the husband of a friend. She's not only foolish, she's also treacherous! Glenn is truly trying to recover from his personal demons -- he even gets born-again -- but for some reason he has a hard time getting over his ex and moving forward with his life. His struggle between the positive and negative forces within us all is real. Both Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale are outstanding in their roles, Rockwell particularly so. In fact, I've never seen such a realistic and powerful performance. No kidding. The viewer sees his sincere desire to improve his life but foolish and selfish temptations manifest when he's faced with rejection and tragedy. Will he take the wise or foolish path? - Nate and Barb's relationship hits its first major crisis: Nate is discovered to be an adulterer, and not just with one person. Barb understandably responds with fierce anger, at first, until a tragedy shows her true angelic nature. - Arthur's parents separate but maybe there's still hope for their relationship and family. - Glenn's parent's are in the latter stage of a committed relationship, which seems to have been successful. - Glenn's loving & loyal retriever is the anithesis of Annie, who treats Glenn with hostility and desires to move on in life, away from him; although this is understandable, the viewer can't help but empathize and root for Glenn in light of his sincere attempts to improve his life and reconcile with his ex. After all, he's genuine & humble, he loves his daughter (and vice versa) and he's not an unfaithful scumbag. Pay attention to the very last scene to discover the fate of the dog. Take note of the scene (very minor spoiler) where one of the main characters takes down a painting of the cross (which represents love and self-sacrifice, of course) and there's a kid's handprint on the wall accompanied by the word "me". This signifies the selfish and immature turn he's decided to make. The film leaves the viewer with hope despite the series of foolish, tragic and criminal events -- hope that love will triumph, a certain couple will stay together and a youthful couple will make wise decisions and overcome the numerous pitfalls that destroy others. It could go either way. Yes, the young couple look happy and natural together, but everyone's like that in the early years of their relationship. Although the movie starts out showing Annie's hostility toward Glenn, she admits that Glenn always used to help her focus on the positive side of life and his total support was always comforting. The film shows a young character flirting with alcohol and pot; not all people get thrown offtrack by flirting with such things, I know, but one main character obviously did. Will he? Only time -- and wrong or right choices -- will answer these questions. Right after seeing the film I read the story about a recent incident in Arizona that mirrors the main storyline in the film. It happens. "Snow Angels" IS reality in every sense -- storyline, cast, acting, music, etc. In fact, the film is brilliant. Once seen, you'll never forget it. I'll personally treasure it for decades to come. My only complaint is that sometimes the camera bobbles around too much, drawing attention to itself. I realize the director is trying to be hip but the camera should never draw attention to itself. Fads pass away while solid filmmaking endures.

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.

I have already read a few reviews of previous visitors and I must say that I highly doubt that I can make a big contribution to this list of reviews other than this: If you're a parent, you're probably going to enjoy this movie, simply because you can relate to it. I myself on the other hand did not really enjoy it. I don't have kids, and I watch way too many movies to be deeply impressed by this one. I started watching this movie with high expectations but I ended up being disappointed, sure it's a sad story but it took way too long before something actually happened. And it didn't really touch me at all.That being said, for some people this is going to be a great movie. If you're looking for a sensitive drama, a tearjerker and you're a parent. This is definitely your movie, so enjoy!