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Movies / On DVD / Snow Cake
Snow Cake

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Snow Cake (2007)

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Reviews Counted:59

Fresh:39

Rotten:20

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Sigourney Weaver gracefully undertakes a difficult role, while the rest of the cast lifts the histrionic plot into something worthwhile.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:08-09-2006

Synopsis: Alan Rickman has a made a career of stealing scenes in supporting roles, but he takes the lead in SNOW CAKE. Whether he's playing Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movie or the voice of God in... Alan Rickman has a made a career of stealing scenes in supporting roles, but he takes the lead in SNOW CAKE. Whether he's playing Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movie or the voice of God in DOGMA, Rickman provides a fascinating combination of dry wit and gravitas that also serves him well here. Flanked by Carrie-Anne Moss and Oscar nominee Sigourney Weaver, Rickman's performance provides the core of this character-driven drama. Though Weaver's best roles are as strong and independent women in films like the Alien quadrilogy and WORKING GIRL, she's fascinating to watch in her role as an autistic woman. Rickman plays Alex Hughes, a lonely man driving to Winnipeg to meet someone from his past. Along the way, he meets a spunky young woman named Vivienne who is desperate for a ride home to her mother. But a car accident leaves Vivienne dead and Alex full of guilt, and he goes to the small town of Wawa, Ontario, to meet Vivienne's mother. In Wawa, he discovers that her mother, Linda (Weaver), is an autistic woman. She convinces him to stay for a few days, and he meets her beautiful neighbor, Maggie (Moss). With the help of Linda and Maggie, Alex may be able to move beyond his troubled history. SNOW CAKE isn't for those who need an elaborate plot or explosions. Instead, it's a rewarding drama for adults that also features a great soundtrack from Broken Social Scene, Feist, Super Furry Animals, and the Stereophonics. [More]

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Hampshire

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Hampshire, James Allodi, Callum Keith Rennie, David Fox, Jayne Eastwood, Mark McKinney

Director: Marc Evans

Director: Marc Evans
Screenwriter: Angela Pell
Producer: Gina Carter, Andrew Eaton, Niv Fichman
Studio: IFC Films

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Reviews for Snow Cake

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; UK critics are listed first)
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If Rickman these indignities like a man with his mind on other things, he's probably just shell-shocked by the antics of his co-star. Weaver's performance is so extravagantly awful, you can't take your eyes off it.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment 1 Comment
09/23/06
Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Observer [UK]

A slow-burning examination of disability and grief is enlivened by a top-notch cast and a gently witty script.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Anna Smith
Anna Smith
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Canada-set Snow Cake is clearly meant to be Weaver’s movie, and people with first-hand knowledge of autism say it’s the most convincing depiction they’ve ever seen.

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
09/23/06
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]

Ultimately, [Snow Cake] is the sort of film that creeps up on you and you don't realise how much it has affected you till you find yourself still thinking about it days later.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
09/23/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Thoughtful and moving, this intriguing drama is packed with emotions and insights that catch us off guard.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
09/23/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

A deeply moving, life-affirming tale -- the many scathing one-liners are just icing on the cake.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
09/23/06
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Screenwriter Angela Pell clearly has something to say about the way autism brings clear-sighted lack of prejudice and a childlike innocence, albeit often masked by seemingly irrational needs and drives.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
09/23/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Sigourney Weaver plays an adult with autism, and I can hear your groans already. Knock it off, though, because she's terrific, and the movie doesn't schmaltz up her condition the way Rain Man did Dustin Hoffman's.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
04/19/07
St. Paul Pioneer Press
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
06/09/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
08/03/07
Sydney Morning Herald

Marc Evans’ direction is alternately clear-eyed and blearily sentimental, but the film is a fine showcase for Weaver.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
09/23/06
Adam Nayman
Adam Nayman
eye WEEKLY

[The] arthouse variety of a bittersweet crowd-pleaser, complete with a finale that neatly ties up all the loose ends as the umpteenth pop song announces the arrival of the end credits.

Full Review Source: european-films.net | comment Comment
04/19/06
Boyd van Hoeij
Boyd van Hoeij
european-films.net

As a Special Presentation in the Toronto film festival this past September, Snow Cake made a strong first impression. Now wider audiences have an opportunity to share in an experience that can enrich lives.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
12/15/06
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

Modest but well wrought and witty, Snow Cake is full of unexpected moments and clever observations and, despite a sparse quality, makes a good case for the idea that you're never too late, or too far gone, to connect with or understand others.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
05/04/07
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Squanders all its potential for emotional honesty and goes for cheap and unfulfilling uplift.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
05/01/07
Chris Barsanti
Chris Barsanti
Film Journal International

Weaver makes Linda her own, alternating between off-putting brashness, engaging honesty and bursts of spontaneous, childlike behavior.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
06/01/07
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

Alex first appears in Snow Cake aboard a plane, embodying an obvious contradiction, in motion and still at the same time.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
05/30/07
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Low-key yet thoroughly engaging...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
12/14/06
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Lack of dramatic intensity is all the more surprising considering the emotional clout of helmer Marc Evans' two best movies, the chilling Resurrection Man and scarefest My Little Eye.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/01/07
Derek Elley
Derek Elley
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This slow-burning character drama never gets as emotionally involving, or persuasive, as the moviemakers intend it to.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/10/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
 
 
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Latest News for Snow Cake

April 28, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

April 26, 2007: Critical Consensus: This Film Is "Condemned"; "Next" Vexes; Guess "Invisible," "Kickin' It" Tomatometers!
This week at the movies, we've got clairvoyants ("Next," with Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore), cons ("The Condemned," starring Steve Austin and Vinnie... More...

April 24, 2007: Compassionately delves into the immense frustration, heartbreak and even intermittent comic relief of life with autism, while touching on the sometimes emotionally crippling condition of just being alive, for the rest of us. Opens in new window
More...

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