Tight-lipped Englishman Alex Hughes is traveling through Ontario on his way to meet the mother of his son with whom he has had a distant relationship. He begrudgingly decides to pick up Vivienne, a young and feisty hitchhiker. When the car is suddenly hit by a truck, Vivienne dies instantly, and Alex finds himself grieving for someone he never knew. Now, shocked and stranded on the outskirts of Wawa, Vivienne’s hometown, Alex decides to track down her mother, Linda Freeman, to talk to her in person about the fate of her daughter. When Alex comes face to face with Linda, he discovers that she is autistic. While she understands what has happened, she shows little emotion. He slowly becomes increasingly involved in Linda’s life and the community to which she feels complete indifference, in part because of her condition. Linda in turn becomes attached--to the degree that she is emotionally capable--to Alex, and to what he can do for her. In the meantime, Alex also forms a relationship with Linda’s sexy, independent neighbor, Maggie, and becomes the object of scrutiny by the ineffectual local law enforcement officer Clyde, who, besides being jealous of Alex’s new relationship with Maggie, believes he’s discovered a dark secret in Alex’s past. As Vivienne’s funeral approaches, and with the help of Maggie's understanding and Linda's unique window into the world, Alex confronts his past and both the sadness and anger that have built up within him. - skip ad - Running Time: 1 hr. 52 min. Release Date: April 25th, 2007 (limited) MPAA Rating: Not Rated Distributor: First Take (IFC), The Weinstein Company Cast And Credits Starring: Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Hampshire (II), James Allodi Directed by: Marc Evans Produced by: Steve Coogan, Henry Normal, David M. Thompson

"Snow Cake" tries to wring intimate drama and sweet epiphanies from a collection of oddball characters, peculiar circumstances and doubtful coincidences in a middle-of-nowhere Canadian town. The mental and physical landscape would do justice to an Atom Egoyan film, but in this film, written by Angela Pell and directed by Marc Evans, the key dramatic moments feel as forced as they are predictable.

This low-key Canadian-British production, the opening-night selection for the Berlin International Film Festival, has a chance at art house exposure with its cast of Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie-Anne Moss, but theatrical opportunities will be limited. r>
Mostly, Pell presents characters out of sync with their lives, uncomfortable in their bodies and overly protective of their emotions. There is one live wire, but she must die early for these people to connect at all.

Young and over-caffeinated Vivienne (Emily Hampshire) is the sacrificial lamb in this fiction, a gregarious and talkative hitchhiker who is grudgingly picked up by the sour-faced and incommunicative Alex (Rickman), whose entire body sags under the weight of the baggage of his past.

As the two near her destination, a terrible car accident claims her life but leaves Alex with barely a scratch. Overwhelmed with remorse and guilt, even though the accident was not his fault, Alex seeks out Vivienne's mother, Linda (Weaver), who scarcely reacts to her daughter's death. This, he soon learns, is due to her autism. Only it's the kind of literary autism that allows her to make sagacious observations and funny remarks.

Linda does persuade Alex to stay the night, which turns into several more nights. It's enough time for Alex to begin an unlikely affair with beautiful neighbor Maggie (Moss), who is no more out of place in this environment than a three-star restaurant. And, wouldn't you know it, Maggie, too, has a past.

EvEveryone's past, none of which is nearly as interesting as the filmmakers seem to believe, gets chewed over in the coming days. Then there's a local cop (James Allodi), smitten with unrequited affection for Maggie, lurking ominously in the background, jealously festering over her swift embrace of this lonely drifter. It's a plot line without a payoff.

Performances here feel like performances. Rickman and Weaver have so carefully thought through their roles in such minute physical details that nothing feels spontaneous. By contrast, Moss is warm and natural, but her urban character is so underwritten and alarmingly out of place in this small town that all Maggie can do is act as a catalyst for other people's healing.

CiCinematographer Steve Cosens often keeps the camera close as if the world were hemming in these characters. He and designer Matthew Davies make the dusty, snowy town feel as desolate as their lives while Canadian rock band Broken Social Scene supplies a restless musical accompaniment.