Home Video: Snow Angels

Snow Angels
Directed by David Gordon Green
Released March 7, 2008

This small independent film is an unapologetically bleak and hopeless movie with no direction and no redeeming qualities. Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell star as Annie and Glenn, the two halves of a broken couple both struggling in their own lives, as they fight over a young daughter. Michael Angarano (Jack’s son on “Will & Grace”) also stars as another child of divorce whose storyline tangentially fits in with Annie’s. The film’s plots are all jumbled and incoherent, and nothing fits together as it should. It’s a snapshot of unrighteous people going through a tragic time in their lives, but it’s not effective at all. It’s disturbing and unpleasant, but at the end of it all, it’s not worth the discomfort. The film is based on a novel, and I can only hope that the book isn’t as disjointed or poorly composed. The final scene is incomprehensible and adds nothing to an unresolved story. The dialogue throughout is laughable, and Beckinsale and Rockwell should be happy that they have “Nothing but the Truth” and “Choke” on their respective resumes this year. The lone strong spot is Olivia Thirlby, who’s been brightening movies like “Juno” and “The Wackness” for the past year and needs to have some more major roles. Aside from her, there’s no reason to rent this movie, but a whole lot of reasons not to.

F