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Movies / On DVD / First Snow
First Snow

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First Snow (2007)

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Reviews Counted:71

Fresh:41

Rotten:30

Average Rating:5.9/10

Consensus: In First Snow, an interesting premise gives way to a slow and tedious noir that adds little to the genre.

Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: Jimmy (Guy Pearce) is a smooth-talking salesman who finds himself making a detour after his car breaks down on a desert highway. To pass the time, he pays a visit to a local palm reader, Vacaro... Jimmy (Guy Pearce) is a smooth-talking salesman who finds himself making a detour after his car breaks down on a desert highway. To pass the time, he pays a visit to a local palm reader, Vacaro (J.K. Simmons). Vacaro makes a few positive predictions for him, but then appears deeply disturbed by a vision. Jimmy demands to know what he saw, but Vacaro refuses to tell him, and won't even accept payment for the reading. A few days later, Jimmy becomes uneasy when various predictions begin to come true. He returns to Vacaro and begs to know what is in store for him. Vacaro admits that, yes, Jimmy's days are numbered, and he is to meet his fate--whatever it may be-- upon the first snowfall. The news causes Jimmy to descend into paranoia and fear, and he begins to behave irrationally--endangering both his job and his relationship with his girlfriend (Piper Perabo).What tragedy is about to befall him? Should he worry about his heart murmur? The threats from a disgruntled ex-employee? Or his ex-best friend, a convicted felon, who has recently come back to town? He turns his life inside out, racing to alter his destiny before the first snow. Guy Pearce gives his usual electric performance, perfectly capturing Jimmy's slick egotism, and later, his wild-eyed fear. His puzzle-like quest for the truth combined with the film's noir-style is at times reminiscent of MEMENTO, though the pace is a bit slower, and the plot a bit clunkier. But the film does still manage to pose some intriguing questions about the idea of fate, and the notion of each life being on a pre-destined path. Like MEMENTO, FIRST SNOW will leave viewers scratching their heads in wonder, if not feeling more than a little spooked. [More]

Starring: Guy Pearce, Piper Perabo, William Fichtner, J.K. Simmons

Starring: Guy Pearce, Piper Perabo, William Fichtner, J.K. Simmons, Shea Whigham, Rick Gonzalez, Jackie Burroughs, Adam Scott

Director: Mark Fergus, Bob Yari

Director: Mark Fergus
Screenwriter: Hawk Ostby, Mark Fergus
Director: Bob Yari
Producer: Sean Furst, Bryan Furst, Tom Lassally, Robyn Meisinger
Composer: Cliff Martinez
Studio: Yari Film Group

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Reviews for First Snow

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
04/06/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Through it all, Pearce reminds us how good he can be in these obsessive parts.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
04/07/07
Boston Globe

torpid where it should be tense, dull where it should be sharp, and so caught up with its big themes that it forgets to give them a compelling stage on which to play out

Full Review Source: Killer Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/29/07
Andrea Chase
Andrea Chase
Killer Movie Reviews

First Snow is a very worthy first film, and one that lingers in the mind long after the final fade-out.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
03/28/07
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer

For a movie concerned with such heady topics as fate, destiny, and mounting paranoia, it seems curiously reluctant to stick with the mystical.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
04/05/07
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

First Snow is solidly made -- which, for this sort of film, is nothing to sneeze at -- but it doesn't leave that strong an impression either. It's a decent freshman effort.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
03/22/07
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

"First Snow" has the makings of a complex psychological thriller, but it gets lost in moody atmospherics and an incomplete script.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
04/06/07
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

Fate plays havoc with a salesman's existence in [this] bleak psychological thriller about life and death in the New Mexico desert.

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
04/13/07
Betsy Bozdech
Betsy Bozdech
Hollywood.com

It's a film of great promise, but loses dramatic circulation the longer it spends time chasing its own tail.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
04/12/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

... this one foresees a bleak future for anyone fool enough to look into it.

Full Review Source: San Jose Mercury News | comment Comment
04/09/07
Bruce Newman
Bruce Newman
San Jose Mercury News

A haunting neo-noir about a man told by a palmist that his karma is about to run over his dogma.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
04/20/07
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer

A thoughtful, but tense, meditation on whether the knowledge of your impending demise would be a curse or a gift.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/07/07
Chad Greene
Chad Greene
Boxoffice Magazine

Fergus is blessed with a cast who can duck-and-weave with his shabby material.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/22/07
Chris Cabin
Chris Cabin
Filmcritic.com

Scene for scene, Guy Pearce's performance opens up the movie's mostly regular ruminations on fate and free will.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
04/06/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

First Snow starts out with a compelling premise but melts all too quickly.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
04/05/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

It’s suspenseful and kind of scary.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
04/02/07
Don R. Lewis
Don R. Lewis
Film Threat

Playing a human being unraveling and forced to peel away cocky outer layers to face his real self, Guy Pearce delivers his strongest performance in this film.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/17/07
Donald J. Levit
Donald J. Levit
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

In spite of attempts to chew up the New Mexico scenery, Pearce and others, vehicles for the film's themes and ideas, can do no more than posture.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/22/07
Doris Toumarkine
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International

A fresh and surprisingly effective character-driven thriller featuring Guy Pearce in one of his strongest roles since Memento.

Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net | comment Comment
03/23/07
Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas
ComingSoon.net

It's quite admirable of Guy Pearce to try and eschew a Hollywood career, [but] if he keeps making films like First Snow...

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
03/24/07
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com
 
 
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