Snow Cake
Encyclopedia
Snow Cake is a 2006
independent
drama film
directed by Marc Evans
and starring Alan Rickman
, Sigourney Weaver
, Carrie-Anne Moss
, Emily Hampshire
, and Callum Keith Rennie
. It was released on September 8, 2006 in the UK.
Filmed in Wawa, Ontario
, Snow Cake is a drama about the friendship between Linda, a woman with autism
(Weaver), and Alex (Rickman) who is traumatized after a car accident involving himself and Linda's daughter (Hampshire).
The movie was screened and discussed at Autism Cymru 2nd international conference in May 2006 as well as the Edinburgh International Film Festival
, Tribeca Film Festival
, Toronto International Film Festival
, Seattle International Film Festival
, among others. It was the opening night screening for the Berlin Film Festival as well.
) gets a ride from Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman
), she is killed by a truck crashing into the car, while Alex only gets a nosebleed. Everybody agrees that it is not Alex's fault. He visits the victim's mother Linda (Sigourney Weaver
), who has autism
. She has been informed about her daughter's death a few hours before Alex's visit, but does not show any signs of grief. However, she has a cleanliness mania which involves her constantly making sure everything in her home is neat, and prevents her from touching garbage bags. Her problem is finding someone who will put the garbage outside to be collected, as this was always something done by her daughter. Linda insists that Alex stay a few days so that he can do it for her. He agrees and also arranges Vivienne's funeral.
During his stay he begins a relationship with one of Linda's neighbours, Maggie (Carrie-Anne Moss
), who Linda mistakenly thinks is a prostitute. A local policeman warns Maggie against becoming close with Alex because he is not long out of jail for committing murder. Maggie does not confront Alex about the matter, but instead waits until he brings the subject up himself. Alex reveals that he killed the man who caused his son's death in a car crash while he was on his way to meet Alex for the first time — Alex had only recently learned about his existence, the result of an affair a long time ago.
Linda dislikes Maggie to the point where she initially refuses her help. But after Alex leaves to see the mother of his son, she allows Maggie to come into her home and help her.
in 2007:
Snow Cake won the Zip.ca People's Choice Award at the 2007 Kingston Canadian Film Festival.
Rotten Tomatoes
has certified the film 86% 'fresh' based on 59 reviews.
) was contacted about the role of Linda. Both Rickman and Weaver were runners-up at the Seattle International Film Festival
for the respective prizes of Best Actor and Best Actress.
During the course of making the movie, Sigourney Weaver (Linda) researched the subject of autism and was coached by Ros Blackburn, a woman with the condition who is also an author and speaker about autism and aspergers syndrome. Alan Rickman chose not to research the subject of autism in order to make his character have an impact/shock when facing Linda.
2006 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2006...
independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Marc Evans
Marc Evans
Marc Evans is a Welsh-born film director, whose credits include the films House of America, Resurrection Man and My Little Eye.-Biography:Evans was born in 1963 in Carmarthen, Wales...
and starring Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
, Carrie-Anne Moss
Carrie-Anne Moss
-External links:...
, Emily Hampshire
Emily Hampshire
Emily Hampshire is a Canadian film and television actress.She is most widely known to international audiences for her role as Angelina to Sean Astin's Michael in the 1998 romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl, and Vivienne in the 2006 film Snow Cake, in which she starred opposite Sigourney Weaver and...
, and Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie
Callum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
. It was released on September 8, 2006 in the UK.
Filmed in Wawa, Ontario
Wawa, Ontario
Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Algoma District. Formerly known as the township of Michipicoten, the township was officially renamed for its largest and best-known community in 2009....
, Snow Cake is a drama about the friendship between Linda, a woman with autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
(Weaver), and Alex (Rickman) who is traumatized after a car accident involving himself and Linda's daughter (Hampshire).
The movie was screened and discussed at Autism Cymru 2nd international conference in May 2006 as well as the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
, Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
, Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
, among others. It was the opening night screening for the Berlin Film Festival as well.
Plot
When Vivienne Freeman (Emily HampshireEmily Hampshire
Emily Hampshire is a Canadian film and television actress.She is most widely known to international audiences for her role as Angelina to Sean Astin's Michael in the 1998 romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl, and Vivienne in the 2006 film Snow Cake, in which she starred opposite Sigourney Weaver and...
) gets a ride from Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman
Alan Rickman
Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman is an English actor and theatre director. He is a renowned stage actor in modern and classical productions and a former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company...
), she is killed by a truck crashing into the car, while Alex only gets a nosebleed. Everybody agrees that it is not Alex's fault. He visits the victim's mother Linda (Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
), who has autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
. She has been informed about her daughter's death a few hours before Alex's visit, but does not show any signs of grief. However, she has a cleanliness mania which involves her constantly making sure everything in her home is neat, and prevents her from touching garbage bags. Her problem is finding someone who will put the garbage outside to be collected, as this was always something done by her daughter. Linda insists that Alex stay a few days so that he can do it for her. He agrees and also arranges Vivienne's funeral.
During his stay he begins a relationship with one of Linda's neighbours, Maggie (Carrie-Anne Moss
Carrie-Anne Moss
-External links:...
), who Linda mistakenly thinks is a prostitute. A local policeman warns Maggie against becoming close with Alex because he is not long out of jail for committing murder. Maggie does not confront Alex about the matter, but instead waits until he brings the subject up himself. Alex reveals that he killed the man who caused his son's death in a car crash while he was on his way to meet Alex for the first time — Alex had only recently learned about his existence, the result of an affair a long time ago.
Linda dislikes Maggie to the point where she initially refuses her help. But after Alex leaves to see the mother of his son, she allows Maggie to come into her home and help her.
Awards and critical recognition
The film was nominated in 4 categories for the 27th Genie Awards27th Genie Awards
The 27th Genie Awards were held on February 13, 2007 to honour films released in 2006. The ceremony was located at the Carlu theatre in Toronto....
in 2007:
- Best actress: Sigourney WeaverSigourney WeaverSigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
- Best supporting actress: Emily HampshireEmily HampshireEmily Hampshire is a Canadian film and television actress.She is most widely known to international audiences for her role as Angelina to Sean Astin's Michael in the 1998 romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl, and Vivienne in the 2006 film Snow Cake, in which she starred opposite Sigourney Weaver and...
- Best supporting actress: Carrie Anne Moss (Won)
- Cinematography: Steve Cosens
Snow Cake won the Zip.ca People's Choice Award at the 2007 Kingston Canadian Film Festival.
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
has certified the film 86% 'fresh' based on 59 reviews.
Production notes
The screenwriter, Angela Pell, wrote the role of Alex Hughes with Rickman in mind. It was also Rickman who read the script and made sure Sigourney Weaver (with whom he had previously starred in Galaxy QuestGalaxy Quest
Galaxy Quest is a 1999 science-fiction comedy parody about a troupe of human actors who defend a group of aliens against an alien warlord. It was directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. Mark Johnson and Charles Newirth produced the film for DreamWorks, and David...
) was contacted about the role of Linda. Both Rickman and Weaver were runners-up at the Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...
for the respective prizes of Best Actor and Best Actress.
During the course of making the movie, Sigourney Weaver (Linda) researched the subject of autism and was coached by Ros Blackburn, a woman with the condition who is also an author and speaker about autism and aspergers syndrome. Alan Rickman chose not to research the subject of autism in order to make his character have an impact/shock when facing Linda.