First Snow (R)
Thoughtful, bleak thriller about fate and fear.
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- Studio: Yari Film Group, Yari Film Group
- Directed By: Mark Fergus
- Cast: Guy Pearce, Piper Perabo
- Running Time: 101 minutes
- Release Date: 03/23/2007
- Video/DVD Release Date: 11/27/2007
- Genre: Thriller
- MPAA Rating: R
- MPAA Explanation: language, some violence and sexuality.
Parents need to know
Families can talk about the concept of fate. Would you want to know the future if you couldn't change it? Do you think Jimmy could have avoided his fate? Can you think of other movies or TV shows that have dealt with similar topics? Do you consider this film a psychological thriller? Why? What are the conventions of that subgenre?
Message
Social Behavior:
Drug addict, conniving salesman, selfish backstabber: The film is full of cheats and deceivers trying their best to avoid responsibility. That said, Jimmy does try to make amends in the end.
Consumerism:
Diet Coke, Coke, Sony, Corona beer, Timberwolves (NBA team), Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin posters, Wurlitzer jukeboxes.
Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:
Jimmy smokes cigarettes incessantly for first third of film, then gives it up; heavy drinking (beer, liquor, wine) at bars and in homes; Vince has visible drug paraphernalia (needles, pouches, spoons); a character offers marijuana as a "peace offering" prescription pills in a motel room; reference to "booze and those goddamn drugs."
Violence
Violence escalates throughout the film: The first jolt comes when Jimmy has his palm read and the fortune teller goes into alarming convulsions. Jimmy later feels threatened by a bullet-riddled shooting-range target that's left in his mailbox. Jimmy believes he's going to die and reads various details as "signs" an argument with Deirdre turns ugly (she leaves the car and walks home in abandoned area); several guns are wielded in different scenes; some awkward fist-fighting and kicking; eventual showdown leaves two men bloody from a bullet shot at their heads; news of a terrible car crash.
Sex
Brief, sometimes playful sex scenes between Jimmy and Deirdre (with pretty lighting and romantic close-ups); Deirdre wears a couple of tight tops; reference to "getting laid" kissing in a tub with naked backs visible.
Language
Plenty of "f--k"s (more than 50), plus "s--t," "goddamn," "a--hole," and "hell," as well as other colorful phrases ("Looks like people been pissing on your floors," "Got my nuts in a vise").
Common Sense says
What's the story?
Reviewed by Cynthia Fuchs
Is it any good?
Any movie that finds a place for the remarkable Jackie Burroughs scores a few bonus points out of the gate. As Maggie, an elderly woman living alone -- addled, coughing, and gnarly, she maintains a strange grace, aware of her visitor's selfish intent even as she mourns losing her son to his drug addiction. Her two brief scenes reveal her canny understanding of exactly what went wrong for her son, as well as what's about to go wrong for his childhood friend, Jimmy.
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Parents and kids say



