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Derek Malcolm's rating
Sweet success for Sigourney
By
Derek Malcolm
7 Sep 2006
When a Hollywood star plays a mentally challenged character, there's always the danger that the acting takes over from them actually feeling the part. That way Oscars may beckon, but truth flies out of the window.
On the whole, though, Sigourney Weaver triumphs here as Linda, an obsessive-compulsive, autistic woman who lives in the little town of Wawa, in Canada.
She takes in Alex (Alan Rickman), a troubled stranger who tells her that her daughter has died in a car accident. There are, we discover, other mysteries in his life.
The two seem to need each other - even when Alex falls impossibly for an extrovert neighbour (Carrie-Anne Moss). Linda wants company, though she won't admit it, and he, though sometimes exasperated, is able to mask his guilt and grief in her presence.
Marc Evans, who made My Little Eye and Trauma, here tries his hand at more sensitive subject matter and more oblique emotions. It doesn't always work and there are dull patches, mostly due to somewhat flat direction.
But Rickman's quietly subtle performance and Weaver's well-researched approximation of autism, which is never afraid to provide laughs, paints the ultimately moving microcosm of a small world colliding with the tragedy of death and disappointed dreams.
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Reader views (7)
A lovely little film, shame it hasn't had a fuller release. I'm always wary of stars doing "disability" films but Sigourney Weaver mainly manages to avoid mawkish moments. I'd watch Alan Rickman read the telephone book but it is good to see him a nice, sensitive adult movie.
- Sue, Hindhead, 02/10/2006 17:08
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I would love to see this film but can't find it showing anywhere local to the NW.
- Hilary, Lytham Lancs UK, 26/09/2006 16:08
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Would really like to see this film but cant seem to find a cinema thats showing it.
- Sue, Lancashire England, 20/09/2006 16:32
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A genuinely beautiful film. I am so impressed with Sigourney Weaver, I've never seen her in anything like this before and she really steals the film. Congratulations to everyone involved - go see this film!
- James, Victoria, 14/09/2006 09:22
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A lovely film, understated, deeply human. There is nothing run-of-the-mill here, there are no clichés. Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver are perfect as the two protagonists, both damaged by life, who help each other to recover and survive. The winter symbolism works well. I really liked the music, too.
- Pia, London, UK, 10/09/2006 22:12
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This is one of the best films I have ever seen, and I think Weaver is the most talented actress of her age. The film tackles autism without stigmatising or ridiculing, and it opened my eyes to what it is like for autistic people to live in America. Alan Rickman and Carrie Ann Moss are brilliant in support, and I hope all three win awards for such a touching, wonderful film.
- Mags, Peckham, 07/09/2006 16:37
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Snowcake reminded me of the quirky Sideways or Wonder Boys. Linda is the star of the film, and we see her trying to organise a funeral. A task if you're autistic! Overall I thought the film was really good, and I think Linda (Signorny Weaver) should win an oscar for her performance of an autistic lady who has lost her daugther in body, although perhaps not in spirit.
- Alice, NW1, 07/09/2006 16:35
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