I think "Snow Angels" is easily one of the most potent dramas ever filmed. I encourage you to see it again sometime, Mark, because you're wrong to say that the WHOLE movie is depressing. Nor does the film leave the viewer in a totally depressed state. There's a lot of beauty and hope in this picture; and it left me pondering many things (including the numerous real-life people the characters reminded me of to a 'T'). Certainly the Annie/Glenn/Tara storyline is tragic and depressing, but that's not the whole focus of the story (the dominant focus, maybe, but not the whole focus). The film is about romantic relationships in various seasons/stages and whether they're successful or not depending upon their responses to the inevitable crises & temptations of life/family/relationships:
- Arthur and Lila's high school relationship is just budding and healthy.
- Glenn and Annie's relationship has been devastated by Glenn's alcoholism and anger/stalking issues; Annie wants to move on but foolishly chooses to have an afair with the husband of her best friend. Glenn is truly trying to recover from his personal demons -- he even gets born-again -- but for some reason he can't get over his ex and move foward with his life. His struggle between the positive and negative forces within us all is real. The only reason Glenn fails is because of his own unwise, selfish choices (before the end's criminal tragedy he takes the painting of the cross off the wall and there's a kid's handprint on the wall accompanied by the word "me").
- Nate and Barb's relationship hits its first major crisis: Nate is discovered to be an adultery, and not just with Annie. Barb understandably responds with fierce anger, at first, until a tragedy shows her true angelic nature (supporting and comforting the disloyal, adulterous Annie). It's unlikely that Nate and Barb's relationship will survive because Nate, like a leopard, can't change his spots.
- Arthur's parents separate for a season but it's clear at the end that they love each other and their family will survive the crisis.
- Glenn's parent's 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 (not that I blame Annie for wanting to move on in life); the dog has found succor with Glenn's parents (as revealed in the very last scene).
The film leaves us hoping that Arthur's parents will stay together and that Arthur and Lila will make wise decisions and overcome the pitfalls that destroyed Glenn, Annie and Tara, and to a lesser extent Nate and Barb. It could go either way for Arthur and Lila. Yes, they look happy and natural together, but Glenn and Annie were like that in the early years of their relationship as well. Remember, Annie admitted that Glenn used to make her focus on the positive side of life and his total support was always comforting.
The film shows Arthur flirting with alcohol and pot; not all people get thrown offtrack in life by such things, but Glenn did (and getting born-again only helped a little). Will Arthur?
Only time -- and wrong or right choices -- will tell.
Right after seeing the film I got on the internet and read the story about Brian Diez in Arizona shooting five people, including the mother of his two children, and then turning the gun on himself.
"Snow Angels" IS reality, my friend. Give it another chance sometime with these things in mind.
PS: I don't watch soaps and only sporadically view dramas.
PSS: I'll have to check out "Resevoir Dogs" and "Moon" sometime.
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