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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: Dramas

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 critic A-Z; UK critics are listed first)
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Speaks to metaphysical mysteries best left unsolved.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
04/04/07
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

"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

Brings little new to the genre apart from another outstanding performance by Pearce.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
04/26/07
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

First Snow keeps audiences guessing - not necessarily about how the film will end but what path things will take to get there.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
04/06/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

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

First Snow is an auspicious directorial debut for Mark Fergus. It will be interesting to see what he does next.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
06/23/07
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

The subdued ending might disappoint those hoping for a more lively denouement, but really, it seems just right for a tale as chilly as this one.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
04/18/07
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

A psychological thriller with the message that knowing about your impending death has a way of focusing your life and making everything supercharged with meaning.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
03/23/07
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

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

Seeing where the road leads, audiences will be forgiven for asking their own existential question: 'Is that all there is?'

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
04/06/07
Peter Canavese
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

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

Like a first snow, Mark Fergus's psychological thriller is unpredictable, but doesn't quite stick.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
04/07/07
Erin Clements
Erin Clements
Time Out New York

Guy Pearce is two for two in 2007 playing American users whose actions come back to haunt them.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/07/07
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

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

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

The film has some of the bleak inevitability of Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, but without the compelling characters and oddball twists.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
04/26/07
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

First Snow is essentially a short story with a metaphysical twist, but Pearce puts his fears more up front than any actor I can think of. He keeps you poked and prodded with anxiety.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
03/28/07
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

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

First rate, incredibly intense and unrelenting thriller guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Full Review Source: Maxim | comment Comment
03/26/07
Pete Hammond
Pete Hammond
Maxim

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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