Snow Angels

A drama set in a small town in winter. Arthur is a high school student who plays in the school band. His parents are separating. He washes dishes at a restaurant where Annie, who used to babysit him, works. Annie has separated from her husband. He is trying to pull himself together: he has stopped drinking, turned to religion and wants his wife back. She does not want to come back, and his effort turns steadily into pressure. The film runs two lines side by side. At school Arthur meets a girl named Lila and his first relationship begins; those passages are the lightest and most hopeful part. The method is to bind the two stories together: one is starting, the other ending. The opening also lets you sense from the start what is coming. The source is Stewart O'Nan's novel. Kate Beckinsale plays Annie, Sam Rockwell her husband and Michael Angarano plays Arthur. David Gordon Green directed. A well-acted example for anyone who likes American independent drama and small-town stories. Before you watch, know this: the film moves towards a hard event and its register is heavy.