DVD of the week

Let them eat cold cake: If you're interested in seeing a quiet and well-acted drama and you really enjoyed the Julie Christie heartbreak film Away From Her (also out on DVD this week) then you'll think Snow Cake is good too. Not as good or well acted as Away but moving and impressive nonetheless. After a tragic accident occurs, taciturn and no-nonsense Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) decides to meet the mother of the girl who died while riding in his car. It brings him face to face with an autistic woman who besides not wanting anyone in her kitchen does not do social. The woman, Linda Freeman, is played by Sigourney Weaver. Weaver and Rickman have got to be two of the most underrated actors in their 50's. It's also not the first time they've acted in a movie together; they were also in 1999's Galaxy Quest. If you like these two actors then you're in for a treat. It's refreshing to see Weaver as someone besides the "bitch" or Alex Ripley and to see Rickman as someone besides Professor Snape. Although having said that both had wildly diverse careers before their respective famous characters took off.

As Alex lingers in Linda's world to help with the funeral and, most importantly, the garbage, the two form a bond. The two open each other up little by little; Linda teaches Alex not to be so sad and Alex teaches Linda to share her kitchen and her home.

Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity from the Matrix movies) plays a woman with whom Alex enters into an intimate relationship with. The real star, however, is only on screen for about 12 minutes; Canadian actress Emily Hampshire plays Vivienne Freeman. Mostly a tv actress, Hampshire imbues the young woman on her way to visit her mom with an energy and life that infects each character and inspires them to add life to their daily existence.

The plus of this movie is that it's not a downer; it's life affirming and charming. The tagline of the film is 'Sometimes stopping is the most important part of the journey.' This is one journey worth taking. Unfortunately there are no goodies in terms of extras on the DVD. Some outtakes of actors playing in the snow in Canada would have been COOL.

Vomit scene-Yes. Visible-Yes Scene occurs after the car crash.

Bags of popcorn (out of 5): 3.5