This is a heavy adult drama with admirable performances, but a downward arc that leaves viewers feeling helpless and despairing. Its dramatic integrity is hurt by a few humorous sequences that provide little relief and seem forced, perhaps as a sop to Beckinsale fans who may purchase a ticket based on her performances in mainstream films like Serendipity, only to discover the harrowing subject matter at the heart of Snow Angels is no laughing matter.

Christians may be hung up on how the filmmakers portray Glenn’s faith, but the Christian element of Snow Angels is not a problem. Glenn’s desperation reveals a struggle with the old man (Eph. 4:22) that followers of Christ will understand, although they will be disappointed with Glenn’s inability to find the peace he seeks. His simply spoken prayers early in the film give way, after a tragic turn in the story, to conversations with God that are full of conflict. He finds it in his heart to forgive certain people, but not his wife. “I’m trying,” he says, but “she makes it hard.” He asks God how he should respond to tragedy, even as he confesses to God that he has “bad, bad dreams.”

The film climaxes with a horrific act, but ends with a faint glimmer of possible reconciliation and hope. Most viewers won’t find it sufficient solace after the sorrow and downward spiral that precedes it.

Though appropriately chilly, Snow Angels doesn’t take viewers to celestial heights. It leaves them a little bit sadder, but not any wiser.

Questions? Comments? Contact the writer at crosswalkchristian@earthlink.net.

CAUTIONS:

• Language/Profanity:  Lord’s name taken in vain; multiple profanities; reference to “born-again bulls—t.”
• Drugs/Alcohol:  Kids get high; Glenn says he’s no longer drinking but falls off the wagon.
• Sex/Nudity:  Marital unfaithfulness; man and in woman in bed, scantily clad, discuss their spouses; teenage boy discusses love-making fantasy; a man prays in his underwear; teenagers have implied oral sex, the girl then sleeps over, and the boy’s mother speaks approvingly about it the next morning.
• Violence:  Verbal reference to a previous suicide attempt; two men brawl; a young child disappears and is suspected of being abducted; self-destructive, drunken behavior; a man violently kills a woman; a suicide; brief images of human carnage.
• Religion:  Grace is said in Jesus’ name; Glenn testifies to religious rebirth; he discusses the Bible with a work supervisor and prays to God for help in coping with the breakup of his marriage; while selling carpet, he asks two customers if they believe in Jesus; he washes his wife’s feet.