Here is a film that sets an example in the field of attention to detail. This film has probably had its concept born, its idea written down, the idea then transformed into a screenplay and then that screenplay has been re-written a couple of times to include every single tiny meaning and attention to detail possible; some the audiences will notice and some who will not as they're either too quick or they're just caught up in the brilliance that is the rest of the film.
When I say attention to detail, I mean the in-depth study of characters. I was asking several questions as to why certain characters were acting the way they were towards others and just when I thought "there's something the film has done wrong", it went back and answered my question twenty minutes later. Without giving anything away, I couldn't work out why Alex (Rickman) was so antagonistic towards the truck driver but the film answers the question near the end when Alex's past tragedy becomes clear; also, the attention to the characters in particular was outstanding. Vivienne (Hampshire) has the interesting quirk of putting her McDonalds fries in her burger and then eating it, Linda (Weaver) is able to identify that Alex is wearing her 'third favourite sweater' and all throughout the film, sounds and noises in the background of dogs barking, birds chirping and distant traffic puts us there.
I got the feeling that before every take whilst shooting; the filmmakers thought of everything they possibly could to either hint at past and unseen events or just ask themselves 'this situation has arisen what would happen' and this is where the script being re-written and thought through on such an impressive level comes in that it's hard to think of another recent film that is as impressive as this. I loved the way the film actually re-starts after about fifteen minutes following an action that even I was surprised by; I loved the way that during Alex and Vivienne's journey, we are given time out to see side shots of massive trucks suddenly blur by, emphasising the seemingly random and unnecessary. It seems ironic that the film has that certain 'snowy' look to it and the exterior shots that feel like absolute white allows you to actually 'see' the cold rather than feel it since if we're watching a film in a warm room, we can't feel what the characters are feeling.
Another strong point is the cast. Having Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Ann Moss away from trying to either blow up John McLane, fight off Aliens or box a bunch of Agent Smiths is a real treat and you quickly forget who's who these are really recognisable faces in a film you don't expect them to be in and for me to forget who they are and just accept them as characters is really impressive. The film uses an impressive array of techniques to get across its effectiveness the first proper interaction between Alex and Maggie (Moss) is in a room full of red, signalling danger there are red curtains, red candles, they're even drinking red wine and what with Linda already labelling her a prostitute, we are suddenly weary. I especially liked the way that Alex and Maggie's lakeside conversation was intercut with shots of melting ice coming apart as Alex himself describes how his life melted away and came apart when he suffered his past tragedy again, attention to detail is the key here as a seemingly straight forward conversation has been thought through with shots of melting ice.
Snow Cake is the sort of film you watch and allow yourself to get wrapped up in. It is an emotional journey with powerful acting and many, many effective scenes effective because they're well shot and thought through but effective because they make you feel during the film. Really well written, really well directed and really well acted by Weaver and Rickman as the two leads memorable film.
