In Snow Cake, Alan Rickman's Alex is a lonely driver who gives a lift to young hitchhiker Vivienne. Tragedy strikes in the form of a hurtling semi-trailer and Vivienne is killed.
While the accident wasn't his fault, Alex has seen similar trauma in his past. And his conscience drives him to seek out Vivienne's mother – the high-functioning autistic Linda, played by Sigourney Weaver. An odd co-dependence develops, while Alan also falls for Linda's attractive neighbour, Maggie.
Ostensibly, the rumpled-faced Rickman is at the centre of Snow Cake, but it's Sigourney Weaver whose performance dominates.
Linda is a difficult, spiky character who challenges our notions of autism – she can read, write, hold conversations, but is plagued by phobias, the need for routine, and, in what should be a time of grief, is unable to feel the loss of her daughter.
Weaver plays Linda as if blind, staring into the mid-distance while seemingly straining to listen to a distant sound. She comes up with tics and tortured hand gestures and frenzied dances. Some of it works, some of it feels too big.
Linda's autism means we can't get into her character's head or heart. And unlike similar characters in Rain Man, A Beautiful Mind or even Forrest Gump, there's no narrative forward motion for her. That's left to Alex's redemption - but his story is predictable.
Carrie Ann Moss's character, meanwhile, operates almost independently from the rest of the movie. She's just there to hear Alex's confession – long after we've deduced the story.
While we should be wondering why Alex is so closed-off, we know from the outset that he once killed a man. Who it was and why is easy to guess.
The history-repeating-itself script contrivance stretches credibility, which makes some emotional scenes feel overly manipulative.
Snow Cake is a low-key, well-meaning little drama that feels like a movie-of-the-week. It has its moments but overall left me a bit cold. 2 ½ stars.
