Director: Marc Evans, UK/ Canada, 15, 112min
Stars: Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver
On general release
You can’t fault the ambition of Marc Evans, who has exploited the kudos of his low-budget thriller My Little Eye (2001) to explore the twilight zones of the human psyche. Snow Cake follows a rusty ex-con (Rickman), who seeks out the mother of a young hitch-hiker after his car is hit by a lorry and she is pulled out in pieces. Linda (Weaver) is a lonely autistic woman with a short fuse, a dislike of others and an alarming number of tics. The cleanliness of her kitchen is her most important concern. The death of her daughter is a tedious and tragic distraction. Who will empty the garbage on Tuesday? Why does this strange man want to help with the funeral? Why doesn’t he just make snow cakes that melt in the mouth? Weaver plays the part with manic, bug-eyed ferocity, while failing to shed enough actorly baggage to make the role believable. Her childlike grasp of reality, and Rickman’s guilt, is the tearful weave, but Snow Cake has few bold or daring strokes and you have to sit very still to enjoy it.
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JAMES CHRISTOPHER