''Snow Cake'' is a 2006

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

romantic

comedy drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film directed by

Marc Evans Marc Evans (born 1960) is a Welsh director of film and television, whose credits include the films ''House of America'', ''Resurrection Man (film), Resurrection Man'' and ''My Little Eye''. Biography Evans was born in 1960 in Cardiff, Wales. H ...

and starring

Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 – 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his distinctive deep, wikt:languid#Etymology 1, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and b ...

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

Carrie-Anne Moss Carrie-Anne Moss (born August 21, 1967) is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in ''The Matrix'' series (1999–present). She has starred in '' Memento'' (2000), for ...

Emily Hampshire Emily Hampshire is a Canadian-American actress. Her best known roles include Angelina in the 1998 romantic comedy ''Boy Meets Girl (1998 film), Boy Meets Girl'', Vivienne in the 2006 film ''Snow Cake'', Jennifer Goines in the Syfy drama series ' ...

, and

Callum Keith Rennie Callum Keith Rennie (born 14 September 1960) is a Canadian actor, based in British Columbia. His breakthrough role was as punk rocker Billy Tallent in the music mockumentary ''Hard Core Logo'' (1996), followed by a starring role as Det. Stanle ...

. It was released on 8 September 2006, in the United Kingdom. Filmed in

Wawa, Ontario Wawa is a township (Canada), township in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario in the Algoma District. Formerly known as the Township of Michipicoten, named after a Michipicoten River, nearby river of that name, th ...

, ''Snow Cake'' is a drama about the relationship between

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

Linda (Weaver), and British tourist Alex (Rickman), who has a change of heart after a deadly automobile accident involving himself and Linda's daughter Vivienne (Hampshire).

Plot

Eccentric teenager Vivienne Freeman hitches a ride from a reluctant recluse, visiting Englishman Alex Hughes. Just when they reach her hometown of

, she is killed by a transport truck ramming their vehicle, while Alex only gets a nosebleed. Everybody confirms that this was not Alex's fault. Alex visits Vivienne's mother, Linda, to deliver some gifts Vivienne had bought her and to provide support. She has been informed about her daughter's death a few hours before Alex's visit but does not show any signs of grief. Linda is autistic and constantly behaves in unusual ways while showing that she fully understands what is happening around her. 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 (but only when the truck arrives), as this was always something done by her daughter. Linda insists that Alex stay a few days so that he can do this for her. He agrees and also arranges Vivienne's funeral. During his stay, he begins a relationship with Linda's backfence neighbour, Maggie, who Linda mistakenly thinks is a prostitute. Wawa's Chief of Police, Clyde, is jealous of Alex's connection to Maggie, which he tries to sour by informing Maggie that Alex has just been released after serving time for killing a man. Maggie does not ask Alex about this but instead waits until he brings the subject up himself. Alex reveals that he punched and accidentally killed the man (he fell and cracked his head) who caused his son's death. The man had been driving drunk and hit Alex's 22-year-old son while his son was on his way to meet Alex for the first time — Alex had only recently learned about his existence, the result of a brief affair. Released from prison, Alex has flown to

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...

and is driving to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

(he was not aware of the vast distance) to see his son's mother. Linda dislikes Maggie to the point where she initially refuses her help. But after Alex leaves to continue his journey to Winnipeg, she allows Maggie to come into her home to take out her garbage.

Cast

as Alex *

as Linda *

as Maggie *

as Vivienne * James Allodi as Clyde *

as John Neil, driver of the killer truck * David Fox as Dirk, Linda's father *

Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in '' Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Waitress in '' The ...

as Ellen, Linda's mother * Julie Stewart as Florence, an overhelpful (“bossy”) townsperson * Selina Cadell as Diane Wooton, a divorced townswoman

Production

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 Weaver (fellow ''

Galaxy Quest ''Galaxy Quest'' is a 1999 American satirical science fiction comedy film directed by Dean Parisot and written by David Howard and Robert Gordon. It stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mit ...

'' co-star) was contacted about the role of Linda Freeman. Both Rickman and Weaver were runners-up at the

Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...

for the respective prizes of Best Actor and Best Actress. During the course of making the movie, Weaver 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 Asperger's syndrome. Alan Rickman chose not to research the subject of autism in order to make his character have an impact/shock when facing Linda. ''Snow Cake was'' filmed in the

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on p ...

Canada communities of Wawa,

Kapuskasing Kapuskasing ( ) is a town on the Kapuskasing River in the Cochrane District of Northern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Hearst, Ontario, Hearst and northwest of Timmins, Ontario, Timmins. The town was known as MacPherson until 1917. ...

, and White River, and on Michipicoten Island in

Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. Lake Michigan–Huron has a larger combined surface area than Superior, but is normally considered tw ...

, plus the

Southern Ontario Southern Ontario is a Region, primary region of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada, with approximately 13.5 million people, approximately 36% o ...

offices of The Hamilton Spectator.

Release

The film was screened and discussed at Autism Cymru's 2nd international conference in May 2006, as well as the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, and Seattle International Film Festival, among others. It was also the opening night screening for the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 63 reviews, with an average rating of 6.09/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Sigourney Weaver gracefully undertakes a difficult role, while the rest of the cast lifts the histrionic plot into something worthwhile."

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated in four categories at the 27th Genie Awards in 2007: * Best Actress:

* Best Supporting Actress:

(Won) * Cinematography: Steve Cosens

References

External links

* * * {{Autism resources 2006 films English-language Canadian films 2006 independent films 2006 romantic comedy-drama films British romantic comedy-drama films Canadian romantic comedy-drama films British independent films Canadian independent films Films about autism Films directed by Marc Evans Films set in Northern Ontario 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films 2000s British films Films about disability in Canada English-language romantic comedy-drama films English-language independent films