Snow Angels (2007)

Directed by: David Gordon Green | 102 minutes | drama, romance | Actors: Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Jeanetta Arnette, Griffin Dunne, Nicky Katt, Tom Noonan, Connor Paolo, Amy Sedaris, Olivia Thirlby, Gracie Hudson, Brian Downey, Carroll Godsman, Daniel Lillford, Deborah Allen

After four years of silence, director David Gordon Green returns with the film ‘Snow Angels’. Like his previous film ‘Undertow’, ‘Snow Angels’ contains a tragedy that deeply affects the life of a young man. Only the main character Arthur of ‘Snow Angels’ gets more dramas than the main character in ‘Undertow’. Pretty quickly you get a hint of how one of the dramas that will play a part in Arthur’s life will be caused. After the first scene, ‘Snow Angels’ looks back on past events. You get to know young high school student Arthur (Michael Angarano), who has a job with the local Chinese. Arthur’s home is anything but relaxed. His mother Louise (Jeanetta Arnette) keeps her mind far away and dad Don (Griffin Dunne) is very distant. The fun is therefore hard to find. Arthur’s dad soon leaves the house and peace seems to have returned to Arthur. He becomes interested in Lila (Olivia Thrilby), a classmate. Thrilby touchingly plays the part of Lila. In addition to Arthur’s parents, Arthur and Lila, you’ll also meet Annie (Kate Beckinsale) and Glenn (Sam Rockwell). Annie is Arthur’s colleague at the restaurant. She used to be Arthur’s babysitter and struggles with her ex Glenn and the care of her little daughter Tara. Michael Angarano (‘The Forbidden Kingdom’) knows how to subtly portray the stress his character goes through.

As a viewer, you can quickly see that Arthur is not just knocking back a bottle of beer in his bedroom because of Angarano’s body language. Kate Beckinsale plays a completely different character as Annie that you are normally used to from her. Apart from her role in ‘Van Helsing’ or ‘Underworld’, you usually see Beckinsale as a lovely character. But in ‘Snow Angels’ the actress shows herself from a completely different side and she screams quite a bit. Credible and real, she knows how to play Annie’s frustrations; a single mother. Annie struggles to make ends meet to keep her head above water to support herself and Tara. That ex Glenn (Sam Rockwell) keeps trying to mend their broken marriage often gets on Annie’s nerves.

Beckinsale’s opponent Sam Rockwell (“The Green Mile”) is also powerful in “Snow Angels.” The powerlessness Glenn feels as he tries so hard to win Annie back and the emotions that come with it, Rockwell conveys painfully realistic. Examples include the scene where he picks up Tara for a day out; you can feel the tension in the air between him and Annie. Even when Glenn discovers an unfamiliar car in front of Annie’s house and is seriously depressed, Rockwell is convincing. The strongest feat of acting is manifested towards the end of the film.

The lives of Arthur and Annie are intertwined in ‘Snow Angels’. This does not yield a lot of light and cheerful food. But ‘Snow Angels’ isn’t a drama of the kind you see so often. The acting performances of Aragano, Beckinsale and Rockwell are too strong for that. Second, the story contains enough depth; you see the different stages of a relationship: the beginning, middle and the end. A fairly abstract description, but a further explanation would reveal too much of the story. You have to fill in the details yourself. Finally, Nova Scotia’s outdoor shots aren’t just pleasing to the eye; they also give an extra charge to the drama.

The end of ‘Snow Angels’ comes quite abruptly, although you suspect that director David Gordon Green has some intention for that last specific shot. ‘Snow Angels’ is a film that you can philosophize about for a long time.