A Terminal Road Awaits
Added 8/10/2009
Guy Pearce was great in Momento - but that was a Christopher Nolan film. First Snow reminds me a bit of Momento mixed with Insomnia but with markedly less dramatic results. Somehow, somewhere, I didn't quite connect with this 100 %.
The dust jacket of the DVD tells us why this is a compelling premise - Guy Pearce plays Jimmy, a man who's trying to fight against his own fate. And with no surprises, this is exactly what plays out with few surprises. Or rather, the twists aren't quite twisted enough, leaving the audience with an average noir-psychological drama aftertaste. First Snow almost but doesn't quite hit the mark.
This is not the easiest of genres to satisfy demanding viewers. The film won't quite give you the chills or make your head scratch - it's watchable but it won't have you on the edge of your seats.
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thoughtful, artful thriller
Added 6/26/2009
Does such a thing as Fate truly determine the course of our lives - or are human beings just naturally prone to look for patterns where none may actually exist? That is the metaphysical question raised by "First Snow," an extraordinarily well-made and engrossing psychological thriller starring Guy Pearce as a cynical traveling salesman whose life is turned upside down when a roadside fortuneteller (J.K. Simmons) predicts he will die before the first snow falls. Yet Jimmy Starks soon learns that being the target of such a dire forecast may not be an entirely bad thing, for it can, if used properly, serve to build character, liberate the soul, help one find inner peace and self-acceptance, and, ironically, give one a brand new lease on life (however short that life may turn out to be).
Adding to Jimmy's problems is the sudden return into his life of an ex-business partner whom Jimmy sold up the river a few years back. Jimmy is suddenly forced to live his life on a two-way track: running from perceived threats while, at the same time, learning to embrace his Sword of Damacles fate.
In this beautifully paced and exquisitely shot film, director Mark Fergus makes the high desert setting an integral part of the movie`s otherworldly mood and tone. Fergus' screenplay - co-written with Hawk Ostby - is shot through with a tremendous sense of foreboding and menace, while Cliff Martinez' haunting score greatly enhances that effect.
Pearce is riveting as a man who finds himself simultaneously contending with the wildly disparate feelings of fear, desperation, resignation and hope. No one plays these kinds of brooding characters better than Pearce and he is clearly at the top of his game here. He gets fine support from the likes of Rick Gonzalez, William Fichtner and Piper Perabo as the people Jimmy makes amends to as he prepares himself for his preordained date with destiny.
Unfortunately, as with most films of this type, the buildup is ultimately more satisfying than the follow-through. Yet, even though the ending is a trifle flatfooted compared to the rest of the story, the movie, as a whole, is so rich in atmosphere and performance that you'll be glad you took the journey.
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Brooding and atmospheric story
Added 2/26/2009
A moody, paranoid tale. When a traveling salesman has car trouble in a small town, he entertains himself by getting a psychic reading. As the reading begins to come true, the salesman frantically tries to avoid the fate that was predicted.
This story is small in scale, but rich in texture and performances. Can a man change his destiny before the First Snow?
If you like intimate, character driven thrillers, this is a nice little picture. I've been a fan of Guy Pearce's since Memento, and he delivers again in this film.
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Too much of a concept film -- builds tension for the ride, but doesn't go any farther than the opening monologue states
Added 8/31/2008
The idea of this film can be summed up in a sentence: we think we are free, but the parameters of our existence are not really up to us. This is more or less stated in the opening monologue. Most decent films have a theme, usually as simple and as well worn as this one -- but in the case of this film it felt too much like the story was in the service of the theme, rather than the theme being integral to the story. That's what I mean by a "concept film" -- one that is designed around and in order to illustrate a fairly straightforward idea.
First, you have to pick a character who denies the theme -- in this case a guy who thinks life is what he decides to make of it, who thinks his destiny is up to the measure of his own ambition. Of course, he's a salesman. That's perfect, because it means he's on the road a lot -- and being on the road is a nice and easy metaphor for the path of life Then, you've got to set up a scenario that challenges his denial of the theme. In this case, it's a bit contrived: a fortune teller who predicts his demise. You've got to give him reasons to live: a girlfriend who he's not quite committed to (because, of course, he doesn't like to have his future set in stone). Finally, you've got to set up a back story that will provide the causal mechanism whereby his fate meets up with him: an old friend he betrayed, now out of prison.
Where the film starts to generate interest is in the idea that while our ultimate destiny is out of our hands -- the ultimate parameters of our existence, the fact we will die, that we have needs, etc. -- we can choose how we will meet this inevitable end. This dimension, however, is not developed very far -- our main guy just makes a shift from denial to acceptance.
The film looks good, the acting is fine throughout, the dialogue (apart from what seems to me an unnecessary reliance on the supernatural abilities of a fortune teller) is plausible. Guy Pearce works for the role -- though he seems to be slumming a bit here, playing it something like a slightly less intense version of Leonard in Memento. That he does have a much wider range than what we already saw in his breakthrough role is evident from another very different but equally superb performance in The Proposition.
I found the film intriguing, and thought it did a good job building and maintaining tension, but it left me unsatisfied in the end -- asking: is that all there is? What the film needed was a clever and satisfying twist that brought home the theme, while deepening and transforming it. What it delivered was a pretty lame twist that did nothing to add to what was already expected.
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GOOD PERFORMANCES SAVE THIS FILM !
Added 6/9/2008
I am a fan of Guy Pearce and I loved 'Memento'! I was hoping for a little more out of this film. It's not bad and the actors involved give it their all, but it seems to takes too long to get where it's going. It does have some redeeming qualities and some good advice 'not to put off until tomorrow what can be done today'. Procrastinators....are you listening?
;-b
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