First, before I get into the review of Snow Cake, I must admit I don’t know if I have any personal interaction with a truly autistic person. Looking back, I think a child I babysat for eons ago might have been autistic, with the information I know now. At the time it wasn’t as well known. Also, a friend had a child that was probably slightly autistic. However, neither of these are confirmed so, saying that, I want to clarify first that I may come across as rather dumbfounded about things I might mention.
My only true knowledge comes from what I’ve seen via film on autism [like Rain Man]. My first impression of autism was of a person in a catatonic state. Now I’ve come to realize those affected by the disease are perhaps on an intelligence level bordering genius and, in most cases, are certainly much more intelligent than I will ever claim to be. I cannot fathom the level of both pleasure and pain a parent must feel when they have an autistic child and I celebrate their honor and courage.
Snow Cake starts rather simplistic, an older man grabbing a bite in a roadside diner. The world outside is coated with snow and bleakness when the door opens and the most unconventional girl enters. Vibrant and punkish, hair streak with purple strands, clothing a mish-mash of styles, she immediately seats herself at the table with the older gentleman. Introducing herself as Vivienne, she tries to engage him in conversation. The man, Alex, is reluctant, even boorish, especially when she counters with he looked like someone that hadn’t spoken to anyone for a long time. Plus, she’s looking for a ride to Wawa … fat chance from this staid poof.
Gathering his possessions, he hurries from the restaurant, only to see her standing by the road trying to hitch a ride. With trepidation he allows her to ride along, making her agree that as soon as she becomes bothersome she has to get out and find her own way. Their conversations are varied, she is so inquisitive, and it isn’t long before even he succumbs to her impish ways. After a while he admits he has just been released from prison … for murder. Now this might put some people off but it stirred even more questions from Vivienne.
Stopping to gas up, she goes into the market and comes back with some gifts for her mother. He is surprised at her selections and her joy in presentation, but pulls back on the highway to continue on their journey. At this point a truck hits them full-on on the side, rolling his vehicle. He crawls out, unscathed, but Vivienne died instantly. Racked with guilt, Alex manages to secure the home address for Vivienne, hoping to assuage his conscience by visiting her mother.
And so enters Linda into his life. As he approaches her home he hears a bedlam of music and sees her forcibly evicting someone from her house. Knocking tentatively on the door, he is surprised when she answers and says she is aware of her daughters death and telling him he could go now, slamming the door in his face. He knocks again, calling through to her that he has a gift Vivienne purchased for her, which she responds to quickly, gleeful at the purchase of colored light balls that make music when struck.
Alex, intrigued, enters the home and is immediately confronted with the various rules that abound in the presence of Linda: First remove your shoes. Line them up but don’t disturb the others already there. Take off your clothes, no wet clothes near my carpets. Put these clothes on, that is my second favorite sweater so you can’t keep it. I’ll fix you tea but don’t enter my kitchen, no one is allowed in my kitchen.
The list goes on and on and it isn’t long before Alex finds himself enmeshed in Linda’s life and making plans for the burial of Vivienne. And, of course, he must stay until Tuesday because that is trash day and Linda doesn’t touch the trash.
As embroiled as he becomes in her life, he also becomes part of this small town and almost forgiving community. Everyone knows who he is, the driver that was in the car with Vivienne. And everyone knows about Linda and her ways.
Even Linda, after a bit, becomes part of Alex’s world. A small part, for sure, but she allows him inside some secret spaces she has with quiet memories. From playing on the trampoline to eating pure snow, she is a complex study in reality. Alex, in the meantime, has taken up with a neighbor, Maggie. An attractive woman [“She’s a prostitute you know” says Linda - albeit unfounded], he spends free time with her, sharing dinners and moments of sanity, always bringing along Vivienne’s dog, Marilyn, because otherwise the mutt would never get a meal or attention. Linda doesn’t like him.
Alex’s first encounter with Maggie was quite funny when it came time for him to leave and he inquired about what her rates were. Once the truth comes out about Linda’s accusation, they both have a hearty laugh and he is relieved because he didn’t think he had enough money to continue to enjoy her company otherwise.
Snow Cake is a movie on many levels that are different and oblique. It is a beautiful character study, layered deeply. The two main characters couldn’t be more diverse in their delivery. Alex, played by Alan Rickman, is often boorish and proper. Linda, played by Sigourney Weaver, is the total opposite, childlike and impish at times, deeply morose, structured. If I may be so bold, Carrie-Ann Moss as Maggie was almost sluttish, which was perfect. Not in an offensive way but in the fact that you could almost see her as a small town call girl, although proper.
Writer Angela Pell sculpted the part of Alex for Alan Rickman and pictured him in the part from the beginning of her work. I can’t imagine a better selection. On another level, she used her own experiences with her autistic son to flesh out the character of Linda. Rickman, who had worked with Weaver before, called her to play the part and she immersed herself into it completely. Trivia on IMDB says she spent six months in England working with Ros Blackburn, who is autistic in a similar way to Linda. Highly functioning, but incapable of living alone because she can’t deal with everyday mundane chores.
The short and fleeting, but memorable, part of Vivienne was done masterfully by Emily Hampshire.
This film was directed by Marc Evans, nominated for 6 awards and winning one. It carries no rating in the US but consensus worldwide is around the PG-13 area … I have no idea why. It is a delightful film, shot in only 27 days, that is multilayered and speaks to current events. I highly recommend watching this and enjoying it yourself.
Sigourney Weaver, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Alan Rickman star in this film about what happens in the aftermath of a young woman's death. Recently released...More at HotMovieSale.com
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 ...More at Family Video
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