Since her legendary performance in the sci-fi smash “Aliens” and other successes in the 1980s, Sigourney Weaver has been looking for that next great role. She may have found it with “Snow Cake.”
In the film she plays Linda Freeman, a high functioning autistic living in a small town in Ontario and awaiting the return of her teenage daughter. Linda is self sufficient enough to make and maintain a home for herself, at least with passive help from an accepting populace. But she is severely out of touch with both her environment and the people in it. Her daughter Vivienne is the only person she has ever lived with and, reportedly, one of only about five persons who have ever entered her house. But her daughter will not be coming back from this trip, as she was killed in a freak accident on a remote Canadian highway. She was killed hitching a ride with Alex Hughes, who barely survived the accident himself.
Alex Hughes is a man with a troubled past, portrayed in a great performance by Alan Rickman (“Harry Potter” series). Alex has suffered trauma in his life as well. As the film begins he has picked up Vivienne, young and full of life, and has seen her snatched from before his eyes. This, in combination with his other severe emotional baggage, has left him almost as numb as Linda. The two meet when he goes to her house to tell her about her daughter’s death and, more importantly, to find some reassurance for his own battered emotions.
One of the beautiful parts of the screenplay is that the viewer does not know Linda’s condition until Alex arrives. In fact, it could be debated as whether or not the viewer should have this advanced knowledge, but without it the story might have too steep a learning curve, as Linda’s personality is gradually revealed. In any event, Sigourney Weaver does a remarkable job portraying the woman and we quickly become immersed in her performance. Her ability to stay in character consistently throughout the 112 minute production is uncanny.
However, her part is relatively easy compared to Alan Rickman’s. Whereas Weaver has to play a person incapable of strong feeling, Rickman has to play one floored by it. He is down and out and looking for any relief he can find. Pell’s great screenplay portrays the two side by side and the audience wins. Various outsiders in the town come and go, all producing good performances of ordinary people, obviously outside of the main story and there mainly as props.
Angela Pell wrote the strong screenplay using intimate knowledge gained from her experience raising her seven-year-old autistic son. This gives her an edge in writing about something that would appear nearly impossible for the normal person to fathom. The film is shot in Wawa, Ontario, according to director Marc Evans, for the snow. probably, it was also shot there for the economy of the location, which must be second to none in terms of minimal cost of living. It is also in proximity to Winnipeg which boasts a thriving filmic industry and could offer support when required.
Cinematographer Steve Cosens makes good use of the blankness of the Canadian winter and stark snow covered landscape to emphasize the emotions and features of the performers. The outside light is glaring, with the sun reflecting of the freezing snow and ice-slick covered highways. That, in combination with blinding backlit interior windows form an excellent blank pallet for the action. The film begins with handheld footage introducing the teenager Vivienne, emphasizing her vibrant personality. After her death, the film moves to steadicam, allowing economy of operation without the irritation and hyper-activity of hand-held shots and emphasizing the transition from the young to the old.
Between Alan Rickman’s thoughtful interpretation of the emotionally bludgeoned and Sigourney Weaver’s studied performance of the autistic, this film is well worth the watching. Overall, a vibrant celebration of life.
Snow Cake
MPAA: Not Rated
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