Jimmy (Guy Pearce) is a selfish, egotistical salesman who’s always thinking of a way to make that big sale. Then a car accident finds him with time to kill and a fortune teller nearby. After several of the palm reader’s predictions come true, Jimmy worries that a more dire prophecy could also be accurate: that he won’t live beyond the first snow.
If someone asks you what kinds of films show at film festivals, all you need to do is point at First Snow, an engaging, but slow-as-molasses indie that has a fare amount to say about life, but thinks it has a great deal. It is well made, but simple, without effects, fancy shots, or much in the way of sets or props. I wouldn’t be surprised if the film crew came to a small city in New Mexico without warning, asked a few people if they could borrow their homes and business for a couple of hours, shot with no alterations to the rooms, and then took off.
Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, Memento) dominates the picture, rarely out of frame. I cannot think of a film with more close-ups of its star. He’s supported admirably—particularly by Piper Perabo who plays Jimmy’s much put upon girlfriend—but no one but Pearce has enough screen time to matter. Luckily, he’s up for the task, submerging himself into the smarmy life of a man you’d probably be happier not to know.
I didn’t care about Jimmy’s possible demise, though I was fascinated by his growing paranoia that could be rushing him toward death or might have nothing to do with it. It wasn’t only Jimmy; I didn’t care about anything I saw. This one grabs you intellectually, not emotionally. Jimmy might die, or he might escape his fate; since everything is so stark, so empty, I don’t see that it makes a difference. That means you shouldn’t expect an uplifting message.
First Snow is a movie you’ll want to watch in a theater. At home, it is unlikely to beat life’s normal distractions to hold your attention. See it in the dark, where you’ll have time to be taken in by its world. Afterwards, you can stop at a nearby coffee house with your friends and discuss what the film meant and how it might pertain to your life. And then you’ll go home, and sleep, and never watch it again. It’s just one of those types of movies.