Caffeinated Clint
It isn’t surprising that, in the film, his character asks for the most obscure flavour ice cream when his Mrs. offers to buy him one, because Guy Pearce chooses his films exactly the same way. He’s tried Vanilla (see “The Time Machine” and “Ravenous”) and he didn’t like it. No, he discovered he had a penchant for a cone of the funky stuff (“Memento”) and from then on has been in search of a wild new flavour just like that.
Guy Pearce, Piper Perabo, J.K Simmons, William Fichtner, Adam Scott
It isn’t surprising that, in the film, his character asks for the most obscure flavour ice cream when his Mrs. offers to buy him one, because Guy Pearce chooses his films exactly the same way. He’s tried Vanilla (see “The Time Machine” and “Ravenous”) and he didn’t like it. No, he discovered he had a penchant for a cone of the funky stuff (“Memento”) and from then on has been in search of a wild new flavour just like that.
Whilst “First Snow” isn’t the to-die-for taste sensation he was probably hoping for – in many ways, it tastes a lot like Memento; thus explaining why the producers wanted Pearce in the pic – it’s definitely a film that travels without a seatbelt: it’s risky, it’s edgy and it’s definitely not playing by the rules.
One of those films you’ll probably need to sit through three times to get a grasp on, it tells of a floor salesman, on a pit stop in New Mexico, who decides to pay a fortune teller (“Spider-Man”’s J.K Simmons) a visit. What he hears, he doesn’t like. Essentially, the psychic informs him that there’s something brewing in his near future that’s pretty ugly.
When a couple of other things that the psychic said come true, Jimmy (Pearce) starts to get exceedingly paranoid and in turn – as we do – ends up creating the mess that the fortune teller told him about.
Pearce’s performance – I’m still bewildered why he isn’t a bigger movie star; but maybe he chooses not to be – is the glue that holds the film together. Sure, the script from is reasonably intelligent, but it’s Pearce’s captivating performance that really holds your attention.
Newcomer Mark Fergus proves he’s got what it takes to make a great movie – but this one has its flaws. The problem with the film is that it doesn’t have the poignant timbre its crying for, and when all is said and done, is probably not a lot craftier than some of the films of the 40s and 50s that travelled a similar road, like “D.O.A”.
Worth a look.
Rating : 
Reviewer : Clint Morris
