Snow Cake
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Movie Reviews of Snow Cake
Movie Review: Fabulous Movie - Very Funny
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, I was very eager to see this movie, and would have preferred to have seen it in the theaters, but alas, thanks to Hollywood, they are not likely to help out independent films...
Anyway, I bought the DVD, and watched it. It is fabulous and funny, and also moving. If you, or you know someone, who has a disability, you will find this to be a fairly realistic portrayal of how people with diabilities are treated by society at large, as well as how those who are family or friends of people with disabilities get treated by society.
If you don't know someone with a disability, then you really should see this film. It is highly insightful. Just because someone is different, does not mean that they are stupid, and should be treated as such. They are human beings, that just act or think differently.
***POTENTIAL SPOILER!!!!***
My favorite scene in the movie, was the deleted scene where Alex takes Linda to McDonald's, and a woman leaving the restaurant with her family, stops in front of Alex, and makes some ignorant comment about caregivers, etc. (assuming that Alex is just Linda's caregiver), and Alex's priceless response is, "Actually, she's my wife". And the woman sputters, and doesn't know what to say, and leaves quickly.
One of my friends has a disability, and it amazes me every time someone assumes she's my daughter (she's only four years younger than me...), or that I must be a caregiver, etc. Because it seems unfathomable to people that my friend would actually be capable of having friends. Either that, or they assume that no one would want to be friends with her, because of her disability. Never mind the fact that my friend has a Master's Degree...
***END POTENTIAL SPOILER***
It's kind of the old saying, "Never judge a book by its cover." Well, that saying is never more true than with this movie. Everyone should see it. I laughed so much while watching it.
Truly a delight! Brilliant portrayals by Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman.
Movie Review: Dazlious!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is such a beautiful movie. I have an autistic son, although his autism is usually less obvious than Linda's, I suppose. Although Linda and my son are very different in the specific details, there were countless moments that had me both laughing and crying, because they were very, very familiar. The actors all did a superb job in their individual roles. Alan Rickman, as usual, is awesome at every moment down to the smallest details, from the dramatic accident scene to sitting in Vivienne's room and looking at her poems and artwork, to the look of bewildered exaspiration during one of Linda's meltdowns, to cleaning up the dog vomit while trying not to let Linda know he's been in the kitchen. You won't want to leave the room without pausing the dvd player.
There are many funny bits throughout the movie, mingled in with the heart-wrenching bits. In fact, often, the heart-wrenching bits ARE the funny bits, and that is part of the beauty of this film. This is a movie that really makes you FEEL a lot, at least it did me. I've watched it many times, and it always makes me feel kind of tingly. However, there is nothing sappy about it.
On top of the excellent acting and wonderful story, it's also a visually pleasing film. Most of the music is very good, too, and even that dreadfully annoying song that Linda listens to when she's stressed out is appropriate because of it's weirdness.
My only gripe is that every time I watch it, I start out by turning up the volume a bit to listen to the music and get kind of mesmerized watching Alex in those opening scenes, and then that truck suddenly drives by really LOUD and nearly gives me a heart attack. I never learn.
Movie Review: Vivienne always picked the loneliest people to talk to
Summary: 5 Stars
Because she wanted to be a writer and she believed they had the best stories.
She wasn't wrong when she picked Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) out of all the diner customers to share a table with.
She really wasn't even wrong when she convinced him to give her a ride. The crash that killed her wasn't Alex's fault--a semi driver rammed his car and killed her.
Not knowing what else to do, Alex went to see Vivienne's Mom (Weaver) only to find that she was a high functioning autistic person with no one to care for her. Alex stayed til the funeral was over--and those days really are what the story is about.
Alex merely wants to help. While he doesn't understand Linda's condition, he very well knows the grief of losing a child and by helping her he is also working through his own issues. Rickman's portrayal of Alex may well be his best role in his career--and I have loved his performances for many years.
Weaver is also stellar as Linda. If I didn't know better, I would have said they'd recruited an autistic woman to play the role--and that to me, is the mark of really fine acting. The actor is lost when they become the part.
I cannot say this is a movie I would ever own. I doubt I will see "Snow Cake" again, but I would strongly recommend it to anyone who needs to deal with an autistic person. It's a very good illustration of how a high functioning autistic person relates to their environment.
Movie Review: Quiet, powerful, unbelievably moving
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a fan of movies - the good, the bad, the indifferent and the simply awful (sometimes). Yet, every now and again I come across a film that moves me immeasurably, even when I don't want to be.
Snow Cake is not a big, loud, 'Hollywood' movie but Alan Rickman's portrayal of Alex Hughes, one of those lonely, complex people many of us are too busy to notice, is outstanding enough to have warranted an Oscar nomination, at least. Sigourney Weaver is heartbreaking as Linda, a high-functioning autistic woman whose hitch-hiking daughter, Vivienne, thumbed a ride from the reclusive Hughes.
I'm not ashamed to say I'm a HUGE Rickman fan so I've seen almost everything he's done, except maybe his very early TV stuff. Yet, when I'd read that he was to do Snow Cake, I almost didn't see it because I didn't know anything about autism and the setting (snow everywhere) wasn't my cup of tea. Well, folks, I've gotta tell ya, I've rented and watched this movie so many times that I finally gave in and bought the DVD for myself. The acting was just so powerful, even from the 'minor' characters played by Carrie Ann Moss or Callum Keith Rennie.
If you don't like people much, or have never wondered what makes a person tick, this movie probably isn't your cup of tea. If, however, you like to people-watch and are a student of the human psyche, then watch Snow Cake - and, oh yeah, keep a box of Kleenex close by. Don't say I didn't warn you!
Movie Review: Deeply moving, original, story, brilliantly acted
Summary: 5 Stars
Alan Rickman deserves an Oscar for his performance. It almost felt like a documentary, rather than a fictional story--he is so real here.
The story itself is beautiful. The Amazon review tells us that the writer has an autistic child so obviously this is an act of love for her. Despite the difficulties the people in the film face this isn't at all depressing. One is left with a huge amount of hope. The scene in which the autistic woman. Linda, (Sigourney Weaver) and Alex (Rickman) play scrabble is transcendent. Linda makes up her own rules for the game which enable her to make up her own words, providing she can use them in a sentence. The sentence she makes up (more than one...) is so beautiful, it will stay in my mind for a long time. Weaver plays it just right.
The film is so un-Hollywood it's terrifically refreshing. The plot unfolds in surprising ways, just like life. You don't know what's going to happen next, just like life. Some may find the scenes with the autistic woman a little painful to watch; I did. But don't let that keep you from watching a wonderfully touching work of cinematic art.