"Angels" of the Mourning

In an unnamed American town, during a brutally cold winter, a high school marching band comically stumbles through a Simpsons-worthy butchering of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". When the band leader (Tom Noonan) has finally had enough, he scolds the would-be musicians for not having "a sledgehammer in your hearts". This moment of satirical absurdity is pierced by two echoing gunshots in the distance. "Snow Angels", writer-director David Gordon Green's incisive, sobering film, then jumps "weeks earlier" and traces the events that led up to those shots. "Angels" is one of those movies that introduces the characters of a small town and then slowly peels away the layers to reveal dark, interwoven secrets. And it's a great example of this genre. It's on the level of films like "In the Bedroom", "The Sweet Hereafter" and the equally chilly "The Ice Storm". Like those films, the performances reach a degree of naturalism that makes the film almost uncomfortable to watch at times. It almost feels like you're spying.

"Angels" features a uniformly great ensemble cast with two standouts at its center. Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell play Annie and Glenn, separated parents of young Tara (Gracie Hudson). Annie is a performance of unforeseen depth from Ms. Beckinsale. The actress typically known for action bombast ("Van Helsing", "Pearl Harbor", "Underworld" series) here creates a devastating portrait of a single mother unable to alter the course of her situation. There is an aching truth to her performance. The always-reliable Sam Rockwell, meanwhile, thoroughly inhabits the role of Glenn, a struggling, born-again alcoholic with tendencies towards violence. Mr. Rockwell's Glenn is so well-drawn that watching him becomes terrifying in its tragedy. His behavior is all too recognizable, his fate all too unavoidable. There is a darkness here that we've never seen from the actor.

Above all, "Angels" is about the ways in which we are cruel to each other - the dissolution of relationships, marriages and friendships alike. Mr. Green's screenplay, from the novel by Stewart O'Nan, moves assuredly forward in small, crucial, bite-sized scenes, each of which deftly, consistently advances the plot. There's not a moment of wasted film here. It's the kind of observant, suburban satire that "Little Children" aspired to be before it got bogged-down in soap opera.

"Snow Angels" is a relentlessly somber piece, but it's also thoroughly gripping. If there's an element of warmth in this winter, it's the tentative, understated relationship that forms between Lila (Olivia Thirlby from "Juno") and Arthur (Michael Angarano). It's a subplot that grows on the fringes of the film in Mr. Green's typically pitch-perfect dialogue. Sample exchange:

Lila: "I like your sneakers."
Arthur: "What's wrong with them?"

As two high schoolers exploring their feelings for each other amidst the relentless chill of this movie, these two young actors convey a sense that maybe all is not lost in the world. It's a sense that maybe there are, as one character says, "some good people in the world". It's a small glimmer of light in the darkness of "Angels", and it's a much-needed sense of relief. And hope.