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List Price: $19.95 | | Label: Ifc
Salesrank: 13738
Released: September 11, 2007 |
| Our Price: $6.78 |
| Used Price: $6.44 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Sigourney Weaver, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Alan Rickman star in this film about what happens in the aftermath of a young woman's death. Recently released from prison, Alex (Rickman) offers a ride to a hitchhiker, only to have her killed instantly when their car endures a brutal accident. Alex then approaches the girl's mother, and the events that unfold change his life and other around him dramatically.
Description of Snow Cake:
Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver form the quintessential indie-film odd couple in this intimately observed drama that makes a memorable detour from the usual high-concept, special effects-laden studio fare. Rickman is in his element as Alex, a morose, laconic ex-con just released from prison. A tragic twist of fate brings him to a Canadian small town and the doorstep of Linda, a functional autistic woman with a decidedly anti-social personality. Weaver is a wonder in a fiercely committed, vanity-free performance. "I don't like normal people," Linda states, and neither does Snow Cake, the heart of which is clearly with the outcasts and misfits, including Vivienne (Emily Hampshire), Linda's vivacious, hitchhiking daughter, who bums a ride with Alex because he looks lonely ("Lonely people have the best stories," she observes) and Linda's neighbor, Maggie (Carrie-Ann Moss), a nurturing type who is very quick to take damaged soul Alex into her bed. This is a palpably heartfelt project (screenwriter Angela Pell has an autistic daughter) that--the unfortunate title notwithstanding--mostly manages to avoid the cloying or manipulative. The smiling faces pictured on the DVD cover suggest an upbeat romantic comedy, but Snow Cake is a slice of something much more filling. --Donald Liebenson
Snow Cake Reviews:
A movie for adults, not teenagers 
2009-12-25 - Snowcake is about an autistic woman and her relationships. It is sad, funny, and heart-warming all at the same time. Highly recommended for people who like psychological movies.
A most unusual film
2009-11-27 - This is a unique inquiry into the life of an autistic adult. Sigorney Weaver must have done deep research to get this just right.
Magnetic
2009-10-15 - This story draws you in as if you were looking out your living room window. Alan Rickman protects his vulnerability, yet shares his heart so fully with his ever present elligence. Sigourney Weaver captures your heart and imagination, allowing the audience to enter into her world where only she resides. A beautiful and touching story without becoming overly sentimental. There's an underlying humor to bring you back to reality.
Fiction is Stranger Than Fact 
2009-04-06 - This film portrays what can go wrong in people's lives even when they are certain that they have not done anything wrong. Many viewers will have experienced some, if not all, of the feelings portrayed so aptly on the screen by the gifted crew. It is a sobering thought that such mishaps can have an innocent begining.
Snow -- better than sex!
2009-02-01 - Snow Cake is a moving tale of tragedy, loss, guilt, and grief. It is also a hugely life-affirming celebration of difference. Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of an autistic single mother is by turns mesmerising and hilarious. As to its authenticity - well I'm not qualified to judge but it has apparently been endorsed by many people who are. Alan Rickman is as effective as ever as the guilt-stricken pilgrim who enters her life by way of a tragic accident and is transformed as a result of knowing her. And the snowy Canadian early spring thaw provides a marvelously sparse and chilly analogue to this odd couple's brief but cathartic encounter.
On the down side, this is a somewhat manipulative movie, and is arguably a little predictable, but these faults are easily outweighed by the film's genuine warmth.
