Snow Angels

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Gordon Green directs. Tim Orr behind the camera. Jeff McIlwain scores. William M. Anderson cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America, Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 2Earned back only 28% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 3Released 19 years ago.
• 4International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Canada.
• 5Directed by David Gordon Green, shot by Tim Orr. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Jeff McIlwain. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor William M. Anderson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell and Michael Angarano carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "Some will fall. Some will fly.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt0453548 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Tim Orr

Original score

Jeff McIlwain

Editing

William M. Anderson

Production design

Richard A. Wright

Costume design

Kate Rose

Makeup / hair

Vasilios Tanis

Sound

Larry Blake

Runtime

106 min · 1h 46m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$1,500,000

Box office

$414,404

Return

28% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Snow Angels (2007) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

68% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

67/100

IMDB rating

6.8/10 · 13,247 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

David Gordon Green

• 
  Dickinson

  2019 · ★ 8.5
• 
  The Righteous Gemstones

  2019 · ★ 7.5
• 
  Eastbound & Down

  2009 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Red Oaks

  2014 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Mythic Quest

  2020 · ★ 7.2
• 
  The Sex Lives of College Girls

  2021 · ★ 7.2

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Snow Angels trailer

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2020-10-14
  ★ 8/10

  Realistic and potent drama about relationships Released in 2007, “Snow Angels” is a drama revolving around a handful of ordinary couples, young and older, in a Northeast hamlet at winter time (filmed in Nova Scotia). Some criticize that the film is depressing but it's inaccurate to say the WHOLE movie is depressing. Nor does it leave the viewer in a totally depressed state. There's a lot of beauty and hope amidst the shadows and darkness. Plus it leaves you pondering many things, including the numerous real-life people the characters remind you of. One of the storylines is tragic and depressing, no doubt, but that's not the whole focus of the story (although it is the dominant focus). The picture is about romantic relationships in various stages and whether they're successful or not depending upon their responses to the inevitable crises & temptations of life: Arthur and Lila's high school relationship is just budding and seems healthy and promising. Meanwhile Glenn and Annie's relationship has been devastated by Glenn's alcoholism and anger/obsession issues; Annie wants to move on but takes a foolish course of action. She's not only foolish, but also treacherous! Glenn is trying to recover from his personal demons, he even gets born-again, but for some reason he has a hard time getting over his ex and moving forward with life. His struggle between the positive and negative forces within us all is real. Both Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale are outstanding in their roles, Rockwell particularly so. In fact, I've hardly ever seen such a realistic and powerful performance. The viewer sees his sincere desire to improve his life but foolish and selfish temptations manifest when he's faced with rejection and tragedy. Will he take the wise or foolish path? Elsewhere Nate and Barb's relationship hits its first major crisis: Nate is discovered to be unfaithful. Barb responds with fierce anger, at first, until a tragedy shows her true angelic nature. Arthur's parents separate but maybe there's still hope for their relationship and family. Glenn's parents are in the latter stage of a committed relationship, which seems to have been successful. Glenn's loving & loyal retriever is the anithesis of Annie, who treats Glenn with hostility and desires to move on in life, away from him; although this is understandable, the viewer can't help but empathize and root for Glenn in light of his sincere attempts to improve his life and reconcile with his ex. After all, he's genuine & humble, he loves his daughter (and vice versa) and he's not an unfaithful scumbag. Pay attention to the very last scene to discover the fate of Bomber. Take note of the scene where one of the main characters takes down a painting of the cross and there's a kid's handprint on the wall accompanied by the word "me.” This signifies the turn he's decided to make. The film leaves the viewer with hope despite the foolish, tragic and criminal events — hope that love will triumph, a certain couple will stay together and a youthful couple will make wise decisions and overcome the potential pitfalls that destroy others. It could go either way. Yes, the young couple looks happy and natural together, but every couple is like that in the early years of their relationship. Although the movie shows someone’s hostility toward another, it’s revealed that the person in question used to help the other person focus on the positive side of life and the support was always comforting. A young character is shown flirting with alcohol and pot; not all people get thrown off-track by flirting with such things, I know, but one main character obviously did. Will he? Only time and wrong or right choices will answer these questions. After seeing the film I read a story about a recent incident in Arizona that mirrors the main storyline in the film. It happens. "Snow Angels" is reality. Once seen, you'll never forget it. Some will treasure it. My only complaint is that sometimes the camera bobbles around too much, which smacks of amateurishness. I realize the director was trying to be hip or whatever but the camera should never draw attention to itself. Fads pass away while solid filmmaking endures. The movie runs 1 hour, 47 minutes. GRADE: A-

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• CR

  Crossroads Films

Key crew

• NovelStewart O'Nan
• Costume DesignKate Rose
• Production DesignRichard A. Wright
• Executive ProducerJeannie Donovan Fisher
• Set DecorationIan Greig
• EditorWilliam M. Anderson
• Co-ProducerDerrick Tseng
• Art DirectionTerry Quennell
• ProducerDan Lindau
• ProducerR. Paul Miller
• ProducerCami Taylor
• ProducerLisa Muskat
• Sound Re-Recording MixerLarry Blake
• Supervising Sound EditorLarry Blake
• Boom OperatorGerry Jackman
• Makeup ArtistVasilios Tanis

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• depression
• small town
• suicide
• family relationships
• young love

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2007-01-19R· Sundance Film Festival
• Theatrical2007-03-07R

Also known as

International titles

• Αγγελοι στο ΧιόνιGR
• Des anges dans la neigeCA