I very rarely watch offbeat independent Films, due to the fact that so many seem to be overly worthy,PC & pretentious, 'Snow Cake' seemed to fit into all three categories - but decided I would watch purely on it starring Alan Rickman & Sigourney Weaver.....I'm very glad I did, it's a very well written & acted film, which seemed to have been criminally overlooked.

Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) is a man recently released from Prison after killing a man, and finds himself sitting next to a pretty young girl Vivienne Freeman (Emily Hampshire)at a truck stop Cafe, after much persuasion Vivienne manages to get Alex to give her a lift back home, Tragedy strikes en route as a lorry crashes into Alex's Car, Alex himself is luckily left without a scratch, Vivienne is sadly killed instantly. Alex feels immense guilt over the girl's death and goes to see her Mother Linda (Sigourney Weaver) to offer his condolences, at his arrival he notices that Linda is Mentally handicapped and suffers from severe Autism, and she manages to get Alex to stay with her to sort out the girl's funeral & put out the bins as she 'dosen't do garbage'

This does sound very depressing, but It's actually funny & sad in equal measure, Weaver gives a career best performance as the Autistic Mother and is greatly believable, Rickman is very understated but also gives a wonderful performance as the driver who seeks some sort of redemption - despite the car accident not being his fault.

Co-starring Carrie-anne Moss (The Matrix) as Maggie, Linda's oversexed neighbour who Alex begins a sexual relationship & Directed by Welshman Marc Evans, who includes songs by Welsh bands in the picture - this is a truly wonderful film that's well worth watching and nowhere near as depressing or PC as it sounds

**** out of *****

...thanks to a fine script by newcomer Angela Pell and adept direction from Brit Marc "I'm not a household name" Evans that delineates the personal healing of a wounded soul (superbly played by Alan "Die Hard" Rickman) when he meets the autistic mother (Sigourney "you ought to know by now" Weaver) of a young woman who has died in his company (the very winning Emily "Ruby Gloom" Hampshire), as well as a concerned neighbor (Carrie-Anne "Fido" Moss) who proves more nurturing than one might otherwise expect. Shot in Canada and pretty much released direct-to-video, "Snow Cake" is one of those odd character-driven films like "Transamerica" and "Broken Flowers" that entrusts a decidedly non-mainstream screenplay to an off-the-radar director and a coterie of accomplished actors with remarkably satisfying results.

I love discovering films like "Snow Cake," and am thankful that talents like Weaver, Rickman, and Moss are willing to tackle them. I love enjoying the work of journeymen like cinematographer Steve "Durham County" Cosens who fruitfully labor outside the limelight of celebrity and deliver results that match or exceed those of their more famous counterparts. Most of all, I enjoy experiencing the fruition of efforts by talented unknowns like Ms. Pell.

This is not to say that "Snow Cake" has no faults, script- or otherwise. At times the fades/edits clearly indicate a narrative structure adaptable to commercial television presentation. The score by Broken Social Scene is often overtly manipulative, if not downright cloying. Some of the premises of the film seem a bit forced (cf. the Rickman/Moss romance). Nonetheless, "Snow Cake" has far more to recommend it than not. The three leads are at the top of their game (disregard any comments you see that claim Ms. Weaver is "acting" rather than "being"), the storyline is engagingly peppered with quality dialog that actually has something to say, and I'm hard pressed to recall a film in which the significance of the title is revealed so late in the plot and yet carries such resonance throughout.

There's nothing here for action fans to see; move along, please. "Snow Cake" is a lovingly realized character piece, well-crafted despite whatever weaknesses it may have, and easily worth the several hours spent with it by open-minded viewers. The DVD features include deleted scenes (most for obvious reasons) and trailer. Recommended to all who enjoy life-affirming tales that refuse to condescend.

Here is a film that sets an example in the field of attention to detail. This film has probably had its concept born, its idea written down, the idea then transformed into a screenplay and then that screenplay has been re-written a couple of times to include every single tiny meaning and attention to detail possible; some the audiences will notice and some who will not as they're either too quick or they're just caught up in the brilliance that is the rest of the film.

When I say attention to detail, I mean the in-depth study of characters. I was asking several questions as to why certain characters were acting the way they were towards others and just when I thought "there's something the film has done wrong", it went back and answered my question twenty minutes later. Without giving anything away, I couldn't work out why Alex (Rickman) was so antagonistic towards the truck driver but the film answers the question near the end when Alex's past tragedy becomes clear; also, the attention to the characters in particular was outstanding. Vivienne (Hampshire) has the interesting quirk of putting her McDonalds fries in her burger and then eating it, Linda (Weaver) is able to identify that Alex is wearing her 'third favourite sweater' and all throughout the film, sounds and noises in the background of dogs barking, birds chirping and distant traffic puts us there.

I got the feeling that before every take whilst shooting; the filmmakers thought of everything they possibly could to either hint at past and unseen events or just ask themselves 'this situation has arisen – what would happen' and this is where the script being re-written and thought through on such an impressive level comes in that it's hard to think of another recent film that is as impressive as this. I loved the way the film actually re-starts after about fifteen minutes following an action that even I was surprised by; I loved the way that during Alex and Vivienne's journey, we are given time out to see side shots of massive trucks suddenly blur by, emphasising the seemingly random and unnecessary. It seems ironic that the film has that certain 'snowy' look to it and the exterior shots that feel like absolute white allows you to actually 'see' the cold rather than feel it since if we're watching a film in a warm room, we can't feel what the characters are feeling.

Another strong point is the cast. Having Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Ann Moss away from trying to either blow up John McLane, fight off Aliens or box a bunch of Agent Smiths is a real treat and you quickly forget who's who – these are really recognisable faces in a film you don't expect them to be in and for me to forget who they are and just accept them as characters is really impressive. The film uses an impressive array of techniques to get across its effectiveness – the first proper interaction between Alex and Maggie (Moss) is in a room full of red, signalling danger – there are red curtains, red candles, they're even drinking red wine and what with Linda already labelling her a prostitute, we are suddenly weary. I especially liked the way that Alex and Maggie's lakeside conversation was intercut with shots of melting ice coming apart as Alex himself describes how his life melted away and came apart when he suffered his past tragedy – again, attention to detail is the key here as a seemingly straight forward conversation has been thought through with shots of melting ice.

Snow Cake is the sort of film you watch and allow yourself to get wrapped up in. It is an emotional journey with powerful acting and many, many effective scenes – effective because they're well shot and thought through but effective because they make you feel during the film. Really well written, really well directed and really well acted by Weaver and Rickman as the two leads – memorable film.