2008 Athens International Film Festival
‘Snow Angels’ so-so melodrama
By Nick Knittel, Staff Writer
April 27, 2008 | 6 a.m.
Despite its stellar first half, “Snow Angels,” a promising flick about a small-town group of individuals and its drastic loss of innocence, collapses under its own weight with overwrought melodrama and unnecessary storytelling clichés.
It hurts to write that. It really does, because the first half of the film is killer-- a detailed and poignant look at how people are connected within the confines of their town. The film revolves around Arthur (Michael Angarano), a teenager involved in marching band and trying to catch the eye of transfer student Lila (Olivia Thirlby).
In a plot line happening across town, Arthur’s old babysitter, Annie (Kate Beckinsale), is trapped in a dead-end job at a local Chinese restaurant and is fending off advances from her newly sober and estranged husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell), who only wants to reconnect to their young daughter Tara (Gracie Hudson).
The performances of Beckinsale and Rockwell are what really ground "Snow Angels." Rockwell portrays the guilty, bipolar personality of Glenn to a razor sheen, bringing the contrasting power of a born-again Christian with the hatred of a bitter father in the film's most dynamic scenes.
Beckinsale is brilliant in her portrayal of a woman whose foundations in life are slipping faster and faster with each scene. The amount of charged energy coming off these two characters when they face off with each other is palpable and invigorating.
It is unfortunate that the rest of the film could not do the same.
Director/writer David Gordon Green has a long history in film making, yet the sudden reversal in tone and plot developments that take place after a major tragedy between characters completely wipes away the brilliance of what was seen before, leaving a finale that ultimately seems more fitting from an amateur film student than a renowned and established film maker.
“Snow Angels” is not a bad film per se but not quite as good as it perceives itself to be, leaving its only real power with the performers and not the plot.
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"Snow Angels"
Speakeasy Rating: C+
Running time: 106 Minutes
MPAA Rating: R for language and sexuality
Showings:
Sunday, April 27 at Athena Grand: 4:15 p.m., 6:45 p.m., 9 p.m.
Tuesday, April 28 at Athena Grand: 4:15 p.m., 6:45 p.m., 9 p.m.
Thursday, May 1 at Athena Grand: 4:15 p.m., 6:45 p.m., 9 p.m.
Check out the official Web site of the Athens Film Festival for more information about the 31 feature films and 215 competition films playing at this year's festival, running April 25 through May 1.