Snow Angels opens with a high school marching band preparing for the school's final football game of the season. They are shocked when they hear the sound of two gunshots from a distance away. We then flashback to a few weeks earlier. Arthur (Michael Angarano) buses tables for a local restaurant. One of his coworkers, Annie (Kate Beckinsale), a waitress, used to babysit him when he was younger. Arthur's home life is a bit of a mess with his parents in the midst of a separation and showing no regard for their son. The one ray of light in Arthur's life at the moment seems to be the plucky Lila (Olivia Thirlby), a new student with a talent in photography. Meanwhile Annie's life is no better, even worse than Arthur's. She's juggling taking care of her daughter and ill mother all the while dealing with her separated husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell), an on the wagon alcoholic trying to get his life back on track. The fact that Annie's also having an affair with her best friend's husband doesn't make things easier for her either. It's through one event in the town where the lives of all of the above mentioned will cross.
I'm a sucker for character driven stories with intersecting paths amongst the characters. The performances are by far the film's greatest strength with four strong performances by the leads. Michael Angarano is terrific and strikes just the right notes as the shy teen dealing with his family's struggles. Olivia Thirlby (best known at the time, prior to this, as Ellen Page's best friend in Juno) has the quirky and nerdy yet cute teen part down pat. Kate Beckinsale has delivered solid work prior to this film, but gives one of her best performances here. Sam Rockwell, though, gives a performance that easily could've (and I think should've) earned him a supporting actor Oscar nomination. It's a heartbreaking performance of a man trying to make things right but always falling two steps behind for ever step taken. Writer/director David Gordon Green sets just the right tone for this film. Nothing is forced or over-dramatized and he allows the characters within the film to grow at just the right pace. On top of that, the climatic moment near the end (which I'll refrain from giving away) is one not of gripping suspense which you'd expect, but harsh realism. This certainly didn't receive the accolades that Crash - another intersecting paths, character driven film - got, but it's still a movie well worth your attention.
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