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72 out of 104 people found the following review useful:
Kate Beckinsale's best movie and a great chunk of life., 13 June 2007

Author: KateB819 from United States

'Snow Angels' is a movie based on a book by Stewart O'Nan. It is directed by David Gordon Green, and stars Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, and Michael Angarano. Rockwell and Beckinsale portray a recently divorced couple with a daughter, who were high school sweethearts. Angarano plays a teenager, who used to be baby-sat by Annie (Beckinsale). The movie follows the lives of several people, including Annie and Glenn (Rockwell), Arthur (Angrano) and his parents, and others as some relationships are built and others are destroyed.

The movie has a strong real-life feeling to it, thanks to great writing by Green and great acting skills by the cast. There are scenes where Annie yells at her child that may seem to be out of place at first glance, but are actually amazing true-to-life ways to express how sometimes parents can lose their tempers with their children. The scenes show how sometimes kids can try to push their parents' buttons, or play their parents against each other without even knowing it.

The acting is absolutely wonderful – the actors show a wide range, from joy to sorrow, and from humor to violent anger. There are times when you love and sympathize with the characters, and there are times when you hate them so much your blood boils – that's how strongly the audience connects to the characters. By the end of the movie, you feel drained, as if you just watched someone you love die.

There were times when the whole audience laughed together, and there were times when the whole audience grew silent in discomfort. The way that this movie consists of laugh-out-loud moments and moments when you just want to tear your heart out and break out a box of tissues is what makes it an outstanding movie. This movie doesn't even have to try to get its audience to love it. The script is chock-full of wit, life at its best and worst, and humor for every generation. The movie left me walking out of the BAM theater smiling and wishing I could watch it again, not wondering why I'd wasted over 10 bucks on a ticket.

The only problem I found with the movie was that its setting was a bit confusing. There were scenes where the characters used cell phones, and others where there were those record players for LPs. But other than that, the movie was flawless.

Beckinsale is at her best here, not only in looks, but in acting range. She took me on another world as I sympathized with her, felt angry at her, felt happy with her, and watched her as her character's story unfolded before my very eyes. This is one of her best movies, and to me it IS her best movie.

10/10, for sure.

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87 out of 140 people found the following review useful:
Hard to watch but worth paying the price, 21 January 2007

Author: larry-411 from United States

"Snow Angels" is a glimpse in time of several relationships, some simmering and ready to boil, others cooling down, and at least one whose flame has yet to be lit. It's also a thriller, with a gunshot that is heard as the film opens. The narrative is linear but writer/director David Gordon Green, adapting the novel by Stewart O'Nan, takes the couples' stories and interweaves them in such a way that we never quite know all the secrets at the heart of the mystery. The film flashes back as we try to see how we got from there to here. In many ways the overriding theme deals with the promise of what once was versus the reality of what could have been. The "reality" is embodied in the relationships which are falling apart, as evident in the older couples. The "promise" is represented by the young couple whose lives are just beginning.

At the heart of the film is the crumbling relationship between Sam Rockwell as Glenn and Kate Beckinsale as Annie. We watch Glenn almost literally disintegrating before our eyes as he tries to get a grip on who he is and why his marriage is failing. Glenn is one of the most frightening characters I've seen outside of horror films. Kate Beckinsale's Annie is breathtaking, in every sense of the word. We bear witness to a life in free fall as everything and everyone she loves seems just out of reach. You know those dreams where you can't quite get to where you want? You try to touch it but it stays at arm's length? That's Annie's world. We so painfully watch as the madness around her takes its toll, and she weathers the way rain erodes rich topsoil, leaving little but rocky dirt underneath. Amy Sedaris is Annie's best friend Barb. She has her own marital fires to put out, and the relationship between Annie and Barb progresses in a way nobody can imagine. She is a joy to watch. In the midst of the darkness there are some lighter moments as well, and Michael Angarano (Arthur Parkinson), Olivia Thirlby (Lila Raybern), and Connor Paolo (Warren) have the lion's share of them. They are essentially the light in the darkness that surrounds the rest of the film. It should be no surprise to fans of Angarano that writer/director David Gordon Green would have chosen him to play Arthur Parkinson. He's not yet comfortable in his own skin, a trait which could describe most adolescents. He's a bit shy, nervous, and even nerdy, yet he is charming enough that everyone else seems drawn to him even though he doesn't seem to be aware of it. As Arthur's muse, Olivia Thirlby's Lila is the female representation of those awkward teenage years and an almost equal counterpart to Michael's Arthur. Their tender tiptoeing around each other is one of the most touching depictions of first love I've seen in cinema. Connor, as Arthur's best friend Warren, provides some much needed comic relief. He is a smart-ass whose ego often backfires. He's funny and not quite as smart as he thinks he is. Among other standout performances is Griffin Dunne (Don) as Arthur's flighty dad. Or should we say father, not really the "Dad" that Arthur wants or needs him to be, but the boy clings to him in this critical time of life when he is most in need of a male role model. But he won't find one here. It's this failure to connect which climaxes in an exchange between them that gave me chills. It was a jaw-dropping moment.

So much of the film is frightening that, as Green said in the Q&A afterward, he had to find actors who could infuse some humor into their characters, otherwise it would be too heavy. All around me were glistening eyes and tissues wiping away tears. At its heart it is a sad story and the audience was hushed at the end. Many have wondered how much of the film is David Gordon Green's adaptation as opposed to the Stewart O'Nan novel on which it is based. Green did discuss this at length in the Q&A. After reading the book, he knew he had to make it into a film. But he also immediately knew that it would have to be heavily adapted. The more he wrote the more he realized just how much would really have to come from his own hand. The impression I got was that what we see on screen is much more David's work than maybe even he had initially anticipated.

Jeff McIlwain and David Wingo's score is haunting, as is the film. It is used sparsely, only to punctuate the dramatic moments, as the subject matter is weighty enough that it didn't need much augmentation. It's used efficiently and effectively. The film is visually stunning. No surprise here, as it was shot by Green's longtime collaborator Tim Orr. His work is unmistakable -- gutters dripping, swings on a swing set, clouds, contrails, aluminum siding -- you can always tell his work. He sees language in shapes and movement of inanimate objects. He then connects them to the action in the story, often with a wink and a nod. Blink and you might miss it. The beautiful winter landscape of Nova Scotia gives him a palette from which he can choose many colors. The juxtaposition of Orr's beautiful photography with the horrors David Gordon Green exposes us to in "Snow Angels" is nothing short of genius.

This is a true work of art, to which many filmmakers aspire. Few hit the mark. I'm not sure if that's what David Gordon Green was trying to do here, but he did it nonetheless. There is little doubt in my mind that this is a film which will make you think about the innocence of youth and how fleeting it is, and make you wonder if it has to be that way.

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35 out of 52 people found the following review useful:
Heartbreaking, tragic and sensational., 5 July 2008

Author: dead47548 from United States

In the hands of a less capable director, this devastating tale of loneliness, murder, adultery and budding teenage love could have easily turned into a melodramatic soap opera filled with completely unlikeable characters. However David Gordon Green once again expresses his genius by displaying human characters with real emotions. The film begins and ends with a montage of standard everyday activity in your standard American town, showing that these people aren't in extraordinary circumstances or any different from you or I. They are human, and they are very flawed.

Another genius decision by Green is who he decided to put in the middle of the film. In a story filled with such tragedy, it is surprisingly centered around Arthur (Michael Angarano), a young band member, and his budding romance with quirky new girl Lila (Olivia Thirlby). Their adorable friendship-turned-relationship is so sweet and pleasant that when they are on screen alone you completely forget about the chaos that is surrounding this town. At the beginning of the film we hear two gunshots as the band is preparing their big number for the football game at the end of the week. So from the start we know that this story is destined to end in tragedy. But in these moments with just Arthur and Lila being awkward and cute with one another, expressing their mutual attraction or making love for the first time, Green makes us believe that everything is right in this small town; if only for a moment.

Possibly the biggest story of the film is the destructive relationship of Arthur's co-worker (and former babysitter), Annie (Kate Beckinsale) and her unstable ex-husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell). Annie goes through the entire film taking one hit after another. She has so much on her plate, between raising a child alone, taking care of her mother and her affair with Nate (Nicky Katt) who is coincidentally her best friend's (Amy Sedaris) husband. Slowly everything in her world unravels until a point where she is nothing but an empty vessel of what may have been a happy woman at some point in her life, back when Glenn used to make her life. Glenn himself is an absolute wreck in every aspect of his life. On the surface he appears to be a despicable, hypocritical character who preaches about how Christianity saves him but then falls right back into drinking and neglecting his daughter. However in the writing and in Rockwell's flawless performance he becomes one of the most sympathetic characters I've seen in many years. It's a film filled with real people who keep falling into horrific circumstances.

At the center of the entire film is Green's sensational writing and directing. But his brilliant work would be nothing without the astounding performances from the entire cast. Sam Rockwell is an actor who I admire passionately, but he still managed to surprise me with his portrayal of Glenn. Rarely have I had such an emotional connection with a character to the point where I cry when he does and when he does something that I know is wrong, my stomach clenches in fear of what the consequences will be. His performance is a tour de force and one of the best I've seen this decade. Kate Beckinsale is also surprisingly fantastic. The role is very unflattering and at first glance her angelic beauty seems to be miscast, but she proves that external beauty can be nothing but a cover for someone who is slowly breaking to pieces inside. She is absolutely devastating, and explosive, throughout the film. However the most surprising of the cast is the young Michael Angarano who nails the role of Arthur with a reserved, internal anguish that is barely let out on the surface but is always clearly dwelling underneath. It's a trait that I could relate so well with and I was amazed at how well he captured this performance. Olivia Thirlby, one of my favorite young actresses, is also phenomenal as the unique, adorable young photographer who gets Angarano to fall for her; it's easy to see why.

As almost everyone says, Snow Angels is an incredibly difficult film to watch, but one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had. Everyone who contributes in the film is at the very top of their game and it combines for something unlike anything I've ever seen. Green is clearly one of the most passionate directors working today; he refuses to add a flare or flashy style to his films but in doing so makes his intimate relationship with his characters instantly recognizable. He is a man who cares so deeply about the people he is putting on the screen that he refuses to let anyone label them or imply anything about them. This film is many things; a tragedy, a tale of young love, a display of flawed human beings falling apart in a small town. Ultimately though, to me, it's a story of loneliness. Green shows early on that no matter what you have in your life, everyone is instinctively lonely. By the end he proves that without love or friendship, life can fall apart to results that you would never dream possible.

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27 out of 46 people found the following review useful:
An Absolute Gem!, 5 April 2008

Author: pegasus3 from United States

SNOW ANGELS is a absolute gem! It is an example of a small scale indie that is as near perfect as I could have imagined. All throughout the movie, I was reminded of a line from the poet W. B. Yeats…………"things fall apart, the center will not hold." The film is a complete recreation of this concept in visual terms. With the exception of the two young high school lovers, everyone's worlds in SNOW ANGELS is slowly but surely disintegrating, and ultimately it gets very dark. But all along the way it is so beautiful. The acting is superb, the photography is compelling, and the editing technique, I found, was expert, continually dramatizing the story by powerful visual cuts. I don't know why some reviewers have complained about Kate Beckinsale's beauty as being out of place in the film's setting, a criticism that makes no sense whatsoever to me. She is wonderful in the film and seemed so right for the part. The fact that she has a very natural beauty only enhanced her role both realistically and symbolically. Sam Rockwell's performance I found extraordinary. His past roles have always reflected a broad range and the character he plays in this film may well be one of his very best. This is a movie that carefully and honestly dissects dysfunctional lives in a small, insulated world. What was so amazing to me was the film's ability to create a combination of a storyline being so very sad and bleak while at the same time that storyline's expression being so beautifully and artistically realized. Also, I don't know when I have seen such a honest exploration of young teenage love as the portraits Green draws of the young boy and girl, Arthur and Lila. The two young actors are marvelous as well and their relationship gives the film the necessary lift above and beyond the despairing tragedy of the story.

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18 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
Superb, 23 September 2008
Author: AdnanZ

David Gordon Green is the most talented and consistently excellent American director to emerge this decade, making a splash he has yet to equal with "George Washington" in 2000, and gaining further recognition with the acclaimed, painfully true-to-life relationship drama "All the Real Girls". Sadly, his follow-up to "All the Real Girls", the outstanding "Undertow" failed to register with critics, and "Snow Angels", although better received, came and went without causing much buzz. Green's first major studio job, stoner action-comedy "Pineapple Express" was a big hit, and taken along with his unrelentingly grim "Snow Angels" shows the director attempting to move past his small-scale independent films which initially garnered so much acclaim for him.

"Snow Angels" is another drama from David Gordon Green, true, but it is also still different from his other films in the sense that it is his most tragic film and also his most narratively-focused (his previous films were far more lyrical). Here he's also dealing with sorts of characters he only touched on previously, and it's also (if you don't count his collaborative effort on "Undertow") his first screenplay adapted from another person's work. I have not read the novel "Snow Angels", but I doubt there is any detail, no matter how painful, which Gordon Green didn't unflinchingly transfer to the screen.

Although I enjoyed "All the Real Girls" a lot, I found that whenever the film was not focusing on the two leads it lost its edge and became a rather mundane, typical sort of film, with few truly interesting characters aside from the main two. "Snow Angels", perhaps partially due to it being an adaptation, doesn't fail to create interesting (although certainly not sympathetic) characters out of every last major player in this film. The story connects a teenager who is falling in love, his former babysitter, her estranged husband, and their daughter in an involving, focused narrative which is never exactly unpredictable but is always absorbing and deeply, deeply affecting. It's not an enjoyable film, exactly (at least the final hour isn't), but it is hypnotic, it is stunningly, stunningly well-directed and photographed by David Gordon Green and frequent collaborator Tim Orr, respectively (there are certain shots which are too beautiful to put into words), and I was absolutely transfixed for the entirety of this film.

Another film in what Nathan Lee (formerly) of the Village Voice terms the 'familiar turf of the Small-Town Midwinter Tragedy', which Lee insists the film transcends, "Snow Angels" is right up there with "The Sweet Hereafter" and Paul Schrader's "Affliction" (I was even surprised to find that Russell Banks wasn't the author of the novel this was based on), and for my money better than those two films. I quite like the Small-Town Midwinter Tragedy as a sub-genre, so I'm not going to say that this doesn't fall under that label, but I will say that "Snow Angels" achieves a sort of real, honest drama that can only come through true insight into the characters (in an interview with the Onion A.V. Club Gordon Green stated that this was a very personal project, and it shows), and a real understanding of them. In that sense it goes far beyond most tragedies (the vast majority are shallow, miserable, soulless tearjerkers, no matter how far back in history you look), and although it's unpleasantly dark and grim, there is humanity to the film, mostly observed through the young couple in love (these scenes are somewhat reminiscent of "All the Real Girls", only without the complications), which really elevates this beyond your typical downbeat film, as ultimately devastating and depressing as it is.

The film would be nothing without the performances, and as someone who couldn't have cared less for Kate Beckinsale before seeing this, I now think this was easily the best female performance of the year so far. If the Academy didn't require extensive lobbying for a film to get a nomination, Beckinsale would almost certainly be up for Best Actress come early 2009. The rest of the cast are excellent too, in particular Sam Rockwell, who may annoy a lot of viewers with his performance in this film, but it is absolutely necessary for the character to work, and is eerily reminiscent of someone I used to know, and all the more effective for it.

I don't want to see this film again for a long, long time, and in this case that's a good thing.

9/10

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10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
4 out of 10., 9 July 2009

Author: harwoodk from Canada

After reading about this movie, and others comments I was very keen on checking it out. Unfortunately after doing so I have been strongly disappointed. There are several comments about the strong performances and how people connected to these characters... The entire movie I kept asking myself, "when I am going to start caring?" The movie ended and I couldn't wait to turn it off, I was inclined to fast forward just to see what happens. But painfully watched it to the end.

Although there was some decent performances from Beckinsdale and Angarano, there was utter weakness from Rockwell who seamed more like an confused infant than an ex violent alcoholic. On top of that, the scripting and acting of Tara was nail biting, and overall I felt as if I was in another world where the rules of communication no longer applied. I could go on, but I strongly feel that this movie does not deserve the 7.2 that is currently listed and that you be careful before spending your time with this one.

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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Very Good If Depressing, 30 September 2008

Author: samkan from poconos, pennesylvania

The underlying novel and this film stole my planned novel! I live in Northeast Pennsylvania (the film is set in Southwest PA). I'm one of those who threaten, promise, etc., to write a book someday but probably never will. But my main idea was to write about one of the ancient defunct communities that dot the old coal and oil regions of the state.

SNOW ANGELS does a great job at depicting lives in such communities. Especially during that part of the year when the landscape is barren and suicides spike. The profound sense of hopelessness is evident in many of the characters. Those without resources fall into profound despair. Those better off look into themselves. The result is always tragic or counter-productive. Only youth sees promise, has hope, etc.

The film was far from perfect: Rockwell and Beckinsale's story line so dominates that the lives of the other characters become almost a distraction. I doubt that's what the author intended. The climax pays off in intensity but is predictable. But the acting and script are exceptional as is the pacing and mood. For those who think the film lacks plot, the simple depiction of setting and life are story enough.

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20 out of 34 people found the following review useful:
There are good people…Snow Angels, 19 April 2008

Author: babubhaut from buffalo, ny, usa

This film is quite fantastic; a character study of a small town and the everyday craziness that can happen in it. From the trailer, one will understand that this will be a very deep story, culminating into some dark event that will serve as a catalyst for either growth or degeneration for those involved. Green, however, never takes the easy road to show us a conventional lead-up to said occurrence. Instead he commences our journey into the town with a lengthy portion of the comedic mundanity of life. We begin to understand these characters and their relationships with one another; we are thrust into their lives while they have all reached a crossroads of faith and find themselves on the cusp of either taking a step forward or a giant leap back. The familiarity greatly increases the emotional impact of the climatic tragedy that serves to push them all to their breaking point. It's a slow boil to utter devastation and it is handled to perfection.

A lot is going on character-wise and it all is intertwined together. Unlike most pieces of this nature lately, Snow Angels allows each role to exist individually while also having a cursory connection to the rest. They don't walk into each other's lives in contrived ways for the sake of the script. These are real people, in close proximity, that inquire about and interact with others in their hometown much like you do in real life. A high school trombone player named Arthur is our central entry point into the tale as he touches the most people along the journey. He works at a restaurant with Annie, who was also his babysitter and an early crush many years previously (leading to a nice scene of the two reminiscing in the backroom now that they are both older), as well as her friend Barb. Glenn becomes involved through his marriage with Annie and their daughter Tara while the new girl in school Lila begins a relationship with Arthur to enter herself into the tale. Everyone's parents ask about the others in more of a polite manner than anything else. They all know each other and try to stay on top of things despite any real caring. I think at least three people ask how Annie's mother is doing, not because they want to know, but because it is what neighbors do. You have a stake in the lives of those around you because you are all involved in a community. It may be a tenuous bond, but it is a bond nonetheless; one that may connect you moreso than you might have thought.

Green really allows his audience to find their own bond with the people on screen. We begin to feel for Glenn as he tries to pick the pieces of his life back up off the ground. A man chased by the demons of alcohol, he has all but lost his wife and keeps only a thin hold on his daughter after attempting to kill himself, before finding God. He is a man that means well, but might not have the capacity to endure what is happening around him as his wife is seeing someone else and still holds a small fear of him and his actions. You hope that Glenn can stay on the right path, but as you watch him continue on through everything you begin to wonder if he can. Credit Sam Rockwell with this because he is absolutely amazing. Always relegated to be the funny guy, Rockwell shows the range he had starring in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind with a devastating role. One can't praise him enough.

We connect to the others as well through their strong performances. Michael Angarano is great as Arthur, growing into an adult and experiencing things that he may not be ready for. Finding his first girlfriend in Lila, (a nice turn from Olivia Thirlby), he must also confront the past; a selfish father leaving and returning what he sees fit into his wife and son's lives, (Griffin Dunne in a well portrayed bit); and the death that has gotten strong in the air. Kate Beckinsale, as Annie, shows that she can act when not wearing tight leather in vampire films, going through the biggest changes of everyone with her mother to care for, the return of her husband, an affair with Nicky Katt's Nate, and the responsibilities of being a mother.

True the actors are the real shining grace here, but Green deserves praise for their work and that of the aesthetic look on display. The final act tends to drag in parts as it leads to the inevitable conclusion, but that is the only blemish from the whole. His compositions are stunning with many scenes standing out. When Dunne and Angarano are walking and talking at the father's campus, Green chooses to continue panning left even as they have stopped, not lingering on their final words but instead the void left empty in front of them as they are stalled figuratively and metaphorically in their relationship with one another. Along with instances like that, we are treated to multiple close-ups of people and objects throughout, whether it be the marching band conductor's speech or the camera that Lila takes around with her. Green has deft control on the proceedings, infusing the right amount of light humor to diffuse the darkness deep within the town. Tragedy affects everyone differently, showing some the futility of life and others the preciousness of it. It is a tough thing to lose a child, either through divorce, death, or complacency and Green puts it all on display to see whether his characters can continue on or fall forever from grace.

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22 out of 39 people found the following review useful:
beyond boring and depressing., 25 March 2008

Author: robengle (robengle@mac.com) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The only enjoyable thing about seeing this movie is to watch Michael Angarano's performance. Clearly he is a talented actor with a bright future. Other than that we, in the theater, jointly agreed... "what was the point and why do these movies get made". As the viewer we are tossed into this dismal, depressing world of rural PA. and left there to wonder... why don't these people seek some therapy & get some help... maybe try to move up the food chain. Why, I wondered, were these people stalled in this life, how did they get there, why aren't they leaving? And then all I could wonder was why should I care? No one in this movie shows any compassion why should the audience? The direction is limited, the story convoluted, and the Art Direction clearly without budget (They couldn't even afford to change the light switches). Not to mention the snow... non melting fake snow... gross. I hope Sam Rockwell spends some time choosing his next project as well as Griffin Dunne (what is he doing here). These guys are great actors stuck in a boring story. A story/life most people are trying to escape, and by escape I don't mean murder suicide. lastly I wish when people are determined to kill themselves in a murder suicide that they take care of the suicide part first. See something else. R

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13 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
A Beautifully Crafted Tale of Adolescence At Any Age, 11 February 2008
Author: danielletbd from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Writer/Director hybrid David Gordon Green returns to his pattern of beautifully entwining the lives of small town characters in his new drama, Snow Angels, which depicts the act of floating through life at its simplest and purest: all of these characters, despite their numerical ages, walk the dangerous tightrope between child and adulthood, leaning from one side to the other with every step.

Based on Stewart O'Nan's novel by the same name, Snow Angels is set in a confining New England town, where it seems that young love can only be found when an older love completely fizzles out. Glenn and Annie (Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale, respectively) are that latter couple; as separated parents, they struggle with the maturity required to share custody of their young daughter while simultaneously resorting to the childish behavior of relying on their parents for help. While Glenn seems to be the one who has given up on any light life may have to offer, it is Annie who comes across as the most immature character at first glance. She is the young mother who is still putting her own juvenile needs first. She works a dead-end restaurant job (something usually reserved for teenagers) and engages in an affair with a co-worker's husband (Nicky Katt). Perhaps that is why she reconnects so easily with her former babysitting charge, Arthur (Michael Angarano). What redeems, though, Annie is the well-meaning but overwhelmed way in which Beckinsale portrays her: she paints on a bright smile to try to seem like everything is okay and together, but her eyes are tired behind it, allowing the audience a glimpse of just how beaten-down she really feels. Even in the moments when she snaps at her daughter, she comes across a lot softer than would be expected in such a situation.

Arthur is very much an old soul trapped in a teenage boy's body; though he is just a high school student, he is swiftly being introduced to all of love's grandeurs and pitfalls when he simultaneously falls for new student Lila (Olivia Thirlby) while facing the implosion of his own parents' marriage and monetary security. Angarano's big wide eyes are not those of wonder or awe in Snow Angels; they, too, seem prematurely exhausted with the weight of everything going on around him. It is no surprise then that he clings to the one person who used to take care of him when he was a child: Annie. It is their friendship that is the deepest bond in the film because it is a pure, agenda-less, emotional connection.

Green expertly weaves tales of the daily grind, from the mundane acts of Arthur's marching band practice, to Glenn's defeat when he momentarily lets his faith slip and reaches for the liquor bottle yet again, to the short-lived triumphs, like a stolen moment laughing between two friends. It is when Glenn and Annie's daughter goes missing that these men-children realize all of the pain in which they have been wallowing is petty, adolescent dwelling, and they have never before truly known horror but just tedium.

Snow Angels is never sappy nor melodramatic, as Green chooses subtlety and quiet desperation over loud explosions from his characters. Glenn is the one character that rides that line, sometimes sobbing to himself and something banging his head against a truck. Rockwell is an incomparable talent in the current film business, but he pulls out all of the punches here, going above and beyond to make his character the scared, confused little boy trapped in a grown man's body that is so common for those to whom life has just seemed to happen. It is only when Glenn is considered a suspect in his daughter's disappearance that he awakens from the stupor that has become his life. In the moments that follow, both he and Annie grow up in a profound way, being forced to reevaluate their situation and try to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Some may go into Snow Angels expecting a suspense thriller and therefore find the methodic pacing a bit slow. Upon walking out of the theater, though, it is impossible not to notice that you don't feel drained because you spent the last hour and forty-five minutes bored but rather because you went on an emotional journey that made you smile warmly one minute and tear up the next. Green and Snow Angels makes you feel, and that is the greatest gift a film today can give). More than a year after the film first debuted at Sundance to critical acclaim, Snow Angels is finally getting a wide release, and it couldn't have come at a better time. After the barrage of uninspired, formulaic rom-coms and CGI monster flicks of late, we could all benefit from some real, raw feeling.

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