Le dernier présage

As soon as i read the cast for this movie i knew i would enjoy it. Pearce Perabo and Fitchner all give fine performances. At first glance you may think the plot line is cliché and overly simplistic, and you may be right, but it is the way the story is told, the setting, and the great performance from Guy Pearce that will really suck you in and have you thinking about this movie for long after it is over. This is the kind of movie that is good for multiple viewings. Even though i've only seen it once, im sure you would pick up more bits and pieces form watching it a second time around. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys physchological thrillers that make you think. This is not for action junkies that can't enjoy a movie unless it layed out in front of them.

"Fate rules the affairs of mankind with no recognizable order." Seneca

Guy Pearce confirmed his cult status with his tortured Leonard of Memento. Writing notes to himself because of his serious short term memory loss, he pursues a putative killer of his wife. Now in First Snow Pearce as Jimmy Starks pursues another threat, his imminent death disclosed by a fortune teller. The theme of fate versus determinism-- Can anyone alter his destiny?-- is provocatively introduced but only partially developed beyond plot demands for someone avoiding death.

The expectations for a thematically heavy duty, time challenged thriller like Christopher Nolan's Memento are not always in Mike Fergus's First Snow, a semi-entertaining thriller slow in many parts and hardly challenging other than seeing Pearce put his indie-strange stamp on a mediocre knockoff of his most famous role. Here he displays his usual taut physical and mental persona but without any puzzling character depths other than selling old Wurlitzer juke boxes and flooring while touting shoulder-length hair and attitude incommensurate with the nowhere character he inhabits.

The New Mexico setting is just right for the new-age ambiance of the occult and existentialism. This region has had its cult status confirmed with the many UFO sightings and the starkly haunting work of Georgia O'Keefe. Chris Martinez's minimalist score punctuates the spare emotional landscape.

Jimmy's palm reader, Vacaro (a wonderfully weary J.K. Simmons), says, "I saw no more roads, no more tomorrows. But you're safe until the first snow." The script doesn't allow Jimmy to go too far beyond disbelief at this prophecy into whether or not one can be happy knowing the future. Try he will to alter that future but without intellectual resolution for the audience.

More promising is the redemption motif in which he must face a recently- released-from-prison former business partner, who went up the river because of Jimmy's testimony and who may now wish to exact his due. How Jimmy faces this prophetic return is not well enough dissected, but it remains an energetic coda to an otherwise sporadically interesting study of personal responsibility and fate.

Basically, without going into a lot of detail covered by many here already, you get a pretty good idea just from the review summaries for this film that many found it really well done, moody, and a great concept, BUT... unfortunately I felt that it was ultimately watered down by the ending chosen by the film makers (or possibly yet ANOTHER stupid studio interference...)

So, without entering any Spoiler territory, if you can excuse or overlook the completely OBVIOUS and somewhat ham-handed ending, and just sit back and enjoy the rest of the film, it actually is quite good and intriguing, and you probably will like it for the most part. And, Guy Pearce's acting is superb...

But... I REALLY would have given my left nut (the smaller of the two) if they had just left the ending far more ambiguous and moody, just like the rest of this excellent film. I basically gave it about 2 stars less than I would have normally for a film of this overall quality; specifically because of the poor way in which I feel that they handled the ending...

(I undress further, oh, excuse me... I mean, ADDRESS this further in a much more detailed SPOILER laden thread here in the discussion section for this film below...)

FIRST SNOW involves a trade off. The action is slow, but there is a fairly compelling narrative. The story involves a brash young salesman who engages the services of a truck stop fortune teller, and finds that his life is nearly over. He's safe only until the first snow. Jimmy, played by Guy Pearce, must plan a course of action to determine the veracity of the prediction, and then act on his finding. FIRST SNOW creates a visual mood, and takes its' own sweet time to unfold. The film is a psychological thriller with the feel of a noirish foreign film. The two writers on this project collaborated on the far superior film, CHILDREN OF MEN, but FIRST SNOW makes a clever attempt to resolve the following conundrum. Our fate lies on whatever road we decide to take, yet nothing makes the gods laugh harder than when Man attempts to control his destiny. Guy Pearce's MEMENTO is a much better examination of the effect of predetermined events, but FIRST SNOW is certainly worth a look.

First Snow is a movie of which the plot can be outlined in a minute. A man (Pearce) is stuck in a little town on the side of the highway where the only attraction is the psychic (Simmons). He spits out some normal predictions, then freaks out and says he doesn't see a future for Pearce's character. Pearce laughs it off, but after all the other predictions come true, he goes back to the same guy. He says this time: "You will be safe until the first snow"

Of course, the clichéd plot line would be that he goes paranoid beyond belief, which for part of it is like this, but the film sets up multiple possibilities of his death that keep you intrigued. The film could have many alternate endings because of all the other ways he could die that are set up in the movie.

But the ending is perfect. The last shot of the film is the best I've ever seen except for Glory and maybe The Shawshank Redepmtion. I also feel J.K. Simmons and William Fichtner both gave performances worthy of a Best Supporting Actor Nomination, more Fichtner than Simmons, but since it is April it's doubtful they'll stand a chance in Oscar season. The screenplay is top notch and Oscar-Worthy as well.

But the movie fall short of a 10/10 because it no suspense is built. For this kind of film, suspense is necessary. But everything else is really good in this movie. But you should still see this movie, especially if you're into fate or destiny related movies