To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.
Billy Merasty
- Cam
- (as William Merasty)
Brenda McDonald
- Mrs. Wherry
- (as Brenda Mcdonald)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I guess you could compare this film to Fargo or Mystery Alaska. Its worth a watch of you enjoy a black comedy. It has some great slapstick moments and the acting performances and direction are all fantastic. The humour may be a bit subtle for some people but I thought it had great charm throughout. The story line may seem a bit similar to other movies such as A simple plan, Shallow Grave and Fargo but there was enough originality to keep you interested. The Chemistry between Robin Williams and Giovanni Ribisi really works and you can tell the director gave them a chance to flow and add lib their scenes together. Some of the visuals out in the snow and mountains are stunning too. *** Rent it, you wont be disappointed.
Not a holly hunter fan but she is amazing in this movie, and what a cast I only gave it a 6 because it's a slow burn and they could have made it move faster but overall worth watching once
Robin Williams gives another phenomenal performance and all of us MISS him...... especially now!!!!!
The Big White focus on travel agent Paul Barnell (Robin Williams), and him trying to overcome his financial dilemmas. After failing to cash out the insurance policy of his brother, who is missing since 5 years and assumed dead, he stumbles across a frozen corpse. A new opportunity arises, but not without problems! While trying to get the corpse to pass of as his dead brother, Paul need to handle the two hit men (W. Earl Brown and Tim Blake Nelson) wanting their corpse back and keep one step ahead of insurance agent Ted (Giovanni Ribisi).One heck of a stew is cooking!
You can't avoid comparing The Big White with the Coen brothers' Fargo, since they're similar in style and story. Fargo, however, is better. But this film is far from bad, and it's not as black a comedy as the Coens-flick.
Acting and characters are wonderful. The script works perfectly. The pace is sometimes on the slow side, but not for long. The story is a mixture of love, comedy, drama, sadness and perhaps a wee bit of hatred. Good stuff for a movie in other words! You won't get disappointed by this film, unless you've got something against the similarities with Fargo. If you loved Fargo, you'll like this one. Perhaps even more. 8/10
You can't avoid comparing The Big White with the Coen brothers' Fargo, since they're similar in style and story. Fargo, however, is better. But this film is far from bad, and it's not as black a comedy as the Coens-flick.
Acting and characters are wonderful. The script works perfectly. The pace is sometimes on the slow side, but not for long. The story is a mixture of love, comedy, drama, sadness and perhaps a wee bit of hatred. Good stuff for a movie in other words! You won't get disappointed by this film, unless you've got something against the similarities with Fargo. If you loved Fargo, you'll like this one. Perhaps even more. 8/10
I actually thought this movie was pretty good. I had never even heard of it, but considering that I really like Robin Williams and Giovanni Ribisi, I thought i'd give it a shot. So sure, its not a "comedy" in the typical sense of the word, nor is it a typical "action" movie, or even a typical "drama" - this movie fits into a mixed category. There's a bit of humor (the two gay thugs and Holy Hunter's character), there's a bit of drama in regards to the relationships, and there's a bit of action. But everything is pretty subdued. Nonetheless, I thought the actors did a great job, and it was "different", which I can appreciate. I normally am not a huge fan of Holy Hunter, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed her in this movie; her character was very interesting and she delivered it very well. And yes, maybe there are a few aspects that are "not believable" as the previous person who commented said, but what movies are completely real? Movies are not meant to be an exact replica of what life is, if they were, then we might as well sit at the bus stop and watch life go by. Maybe not a masterpiece, but certainly entertaining and very good acting.
The theme of this movie is that people can't help but revert to being caring and polite. It is quite sweet to watch even abductors and abductees treating each other with kindness, simply because they forget themselves and act instinctively. A typical joke of this form was the kidnapper preparing a gourmet meal for his victim, and fussing over whether she enjoyed it.
It is not the wild crazy comedy you would expect of Robin Williams. It is more the nightmare of how a small crime is forced to escalate.
There is a lot of quite grisly violence. People do it without thinking, then later think better of it.
The Holly Hunter character is a complete original. She is a bit nuts, but very pleasant.
Even the young ditzy phony telephone psychic loves her clients, and gives them quite reasonable advice.
It does not tie up loose ends. You are always guessing why people are doing what they are. There is no Agatha Christie ending to explain it all.
It is not the wild crazy comedy you would expect of Robin Williams. It is more the nightmare of how a small crime is forced to escalate.
There is a lot of quite grisly violence. People do it without thinking, then later think better of it.
The Holly Hunter character is a complete original. She is a bit nuts, but very pleasant.
Even the young ditzy phony telephone psychic loves her clients, and gives them quite reasonable advice.
It does not tie up loose ends. You are always guessing why people are doing what they are. There is no Agatha Christie ending to explain it all.
Did you know
- TriviaWhile a guest in 2010 on the "WTF with Mark Maron" podcast, Robin Williams said that it was being isolated and cold on the Alaska set of this movie that contributed to his return to drinking after twenty years of sobriety.
- GoofsThe envelope from West Federal Trust with the pre-approved credit card offer has misspelled Platinum as "Platnium".
- Quotes
Minister: Why is God, who is a loving God, capable of such things? When someone is taken from us at such a young age, we often ask ourselves why.
Margaret Barnell: Bullshit.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Big White: An Adventure in Filmmaking (2005)
- SoundtracksLast Stop: This Town
Written by Mark Oliver Everett & Michael Simpson
Performed by Eels (as Eels)
Courtesy of DreamWorks Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises
- How long is The Big White?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Mênh Mông Tuyết Trắng
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $14,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $541,840
- Runtime
- 1h 40m(100 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content