SNOW ANGELS (2008) (***1/2)

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With this film, director/writer David Gordon Green has produced four wonderful independent dramas. I eagerly await his first mainstream comedy, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco, coming later this year. I hope that stoner comedy is a big hit so that he'll have more clout to do bigger productions in the vein of this film. What distinguishes all his films is his attention for personality, especially when it comes to the way people talk and the way they fall in love. There's a sweet romance woven into this tragic drama that reminds us that turbulent relationships probably started beautifully at the beginning.

Based on Stewart O'Nan's novel, the drama takes place in an average-sized Pennsylvania town, centering around three workers at a Chinese restaurant. Annie (Kate Beckinsale, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING) is a waitress, who struggles to take care of her four-year-old daughter Tara (Gracie Hudson), because she is separated from her troubled husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell, MATCHSTICK MEN), who has turned to religion to deal with his depression and alcoholism. At the motel, Annie has a routine of meeting with a married man named Nate (Nicky Katt, SECONDHAND LIONS), who is more of a diversion than a solution to her problems. Working with Annie is high schooler Arthur (Michael Angarano, LORDS OF DOGTOWN) and sassy Barb (Amy Sedaris, STRANGERS WITH CANDY). Arthur is dealing with his professor father Don (Griffin Dunne, AFTER HOURS) walking out on his mom Louise (Jeanetta Arnette, BOYS DON'T CRY), while he's developing a sweet romance with the quirky new girl Lila (Olivia Thirlby, JUNO).

Though this is not an original Green story, it has the qualities of his self-written work. Annie is the town beauty who Arthur has had a crush on since he was small. She was his babysitter, and she kids him that she use to bathe him. He even caught Annie and Glenn making out when they were dating in high school. It's that same story of two young people getting married too young. Glenn has never really grown up, while Annie has only grown resentments for a life that isn't like she wanted. That's why the cute and charming romance between Arthur and Lila is so crucial, because it hints at the hopeful love between Annie and Glenn when they were younger. Leaving the promise that Arthur's relationships will turn out better than theirs or his parents.

Beckinsale has said she is done with the sex bomb roles, and this character returns her to her legit roots. She is very good as Annie, but the most interesting part of the choice is her bravery to be unlikable. In a typical film, she would be the easy character to sympathize with as the single mom with a violent drunk husband. However, she is short with her daughter, having an affair with a married man and treats Glenn unfairly at times. But if all we knew of life was from films then all women in troubled marriages are angels being oppressed by men who turned into devils the day of the honeymoon. Rockwell gives another great performance in a career that has been on the verge of exploding for years. He plays Glenn as a sensitive man who has a great deal of hang-ups left over from youth, especially when it comes to his insecurity over his beautiful wife. His newfound religion is just a last ditched attempt to fix a completely broken life. But all his prayers don't fill or hide the obvious cracks in his relationship with his wife.

Angarano's Arthur is an average kid dealing with a collection of abnormal problems. He drinks and smokes dope to deal with his selfish father. Could this be the same way Glenn dealt with his parents at that age? Angarano has an innocent face, making him very likable. Thirlby's Lila is just what he needs. Anagarano and Thirlby have great chemistry, capturing young attraction and flirtation so well. Could they go the way of Glenn and Annie, or find something better? I also liked the performances of Katt, Arnette and Sedaris. Katt's loser Nate adds a dose of humor without being a caricature. Arnette brings a sadness to her part that subtly defines the years of ups and downs with a man who can't make up his mind on what he really wants from life. Sedaris, who I've only known from broad comedy, is excellent in this more serious role as the career waitress who likes to joke around until she feels people are playing a cruel joke on her.

In the first scene of the film, the tragic ending is foreshadowed, but some have complained that the finale doesn't bring all the elements of the film together. I couldn't disagree more. The ending seems like a foregone conclusion knowing the characters. Additionally, with having Arthur and Lila's relationship just hint at Annie and Glenn's beginnings, we are left with hope that this new love story turns out better.