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SYNOPSIS:
A tactturn Englishman recently freed from prison, Alex (Alan
Rickman) is driving through Ontario, Canada when he begrudgingly
picks up the vivacious hitchhiker Vivienne (Emily Hampshire).
After Vivienne dies in a terrible car accident from which
he walks away unscathed, the remorseful Alex goes to the frozen
backwater of Wawa, to apologize to the girl's mother Linda
(Sigourney Weaver), an alluringly attractive autistic woman.
After listening with both rapture and fear to the rapid-fire
proclamations of Linda, he decides to stay on to help with
Vivienne's funeral.
In
Wawa, he develops a relationship with the local sophisticate,
Maggie (Carrie-Anne Moss) and evades the suspicious stare
of the town's one cop (James Allodi). As Alex, who lost his
own son in a similarly tragic way, moves towards a reconciliation
with his past, he discovers the unique world Vivienne and
her mother created together - one filled with iridescent paper
snowflakes, twinkling lights, backyard trampoline antics,
and giddy games of Scrabble.
MOVIE
REVIEW
There
is a scene in this movie which particularly stood out for
us. After being told off by Sigourney Weaver (who plays an
autistic mother that has just lost her daughter), a woman
tells Alan Rickman: “I know all about autism. I’ve
seen that film.”
We often
associate what we know to what we have seen in the media,
but the problem is - do the media really give us all we need
to know?
While
that is one question to reflect on after watching this opening
film at the 56th Berlin Film Festival, there are other underrated
beauties to be discovered in its 107 minutes’ runtime.
Rickman
plays a man who is involved in an accident with Sigourney’s
daughter. Feeling guilty, he visits her in the icy town of
Wawa, and becomes involved in intricate relationships with
the locals.
Not a
terribly exciting story, we hear you say? Do not let that
put you off, because it is the wonderful performances of the
cast that will draw you in. Rickman (also known as the slimy
Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series) puts on his Englishman
best to play this emotionally-tormented role. His lovely crisp
accent is mentioned more than once in the film too. Weaver’s
role as an autistic mother is a gift to any actress, and she
handles it well. Carrie-Anne Moss rounds up the leading cast
as a neighbour who gets into a sensual relationship with Rickman.
With beautiful
cinematography by Steve Cosens and a cool soundtrack by indie
band Broken-Social-Scene, this Marc Evans-directed movie will
make you appreciate the quieter and finer moments of life
which we often miss because of our hectic schedules.
With scenes
of Rickman and Weaver playing Scrabble while making up nonsensical
words, and her letting him try on a new pair of glasses to
make him more “likeable”, it is hard not to fall
in love with this film.
And
yes, there is a snow cake at the end of the movie. When you
see the joy on Weaver’s face while eating the slices
of ice, you may have the urge to want a taste of it too.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 disc does not contain any extra features,
though we think it’d be good to include a featurette
on autism, or one about the actors’ experience working
with each other, or one on how Weaver finds her snow-eating
experience – anything at all.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The visual transfer on this disc makes the icy scenes look
gorgeous without feeling cold. There is English Dolby Digital
2.0 or 5.1 to choose from.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
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