Angels Crest

Didn't know the outcome but was hoping for redemption in this Alaska winter movie. It's got to be tough living those cold winters. Beside the slow pace, the bleakness didn't make for happiness. Added to that is the Hollywood requirement of a single blasphemy of Jesus whose love the movie could sure have used.

ANGELS CREST is not a perfect movie: there are so many undeveloped sidebars that keeping everyone in a place where they seem to fit into the tale is difficult. But there are some powerful performances here and some cause for reflection that makes the movie very worthwhile watching. Based on the novel by the same name written by Leslie Schwartz, adapted for the screen by Catherine Trieschmann, and directed by Gaby Dellal, the story deals with numerous interactions of a small town populated with alcoholics, drug abusers, adulterers, and other strange types and how they deal with a tragedy that makes no sense.

Nate Denton (Ameko Eks Mass Carroll) is a 3 year old son of Ethan Denton (Thomas Dekkar in a breakout performance that deserves attention) who awakens one morning in his pathetic home to tell his beloved single dad that it is snowing. The father/son bond is strong and Ethan dresses them both to go out to view the beauty of the snowy countryside in their old truck. When they arrive at a perfect spot, Ethan turns to the backseat to take Nate out to make snowmen, but Nate has fallen asleep in this safety car seat. Ethan makes the truck warm, locks the truck and walks out to view the spectacle of winter, the deer, and the eloquent mountains. In a few minutes he returns - and Nate is gone! Ethan is terrified, begins shouting his son's name as he searches for him. The town is alerted and a search party begins. Nate's mother alcoholic mother Cindy (Lynn Collins) is notified of Nate's missing and begins her tirade on every person she meets. After an overnight search for Nate, Ethan discovers Nate's frozen body and is devastated. Ethan is taken into custody for a death stemming from negligence and the townspeople form sides as to Ethan's guilt. Among them is a waitress Angie (Mira Sorvino) and her small daughter Rosie (Emma Macgillivray), Ethan's friend Rusty (Joseph Morgan), a lesbian couple (Elizabeth McGovern and Kate Walsh), Cindy's preachy mother (Barbara Williams). and the local police. The town brings in the District Attorney (Jeremy Piven) who obviously has secrets of his won that mirror Ethan's crisis. The story is resolved in a strange and tragic manner, leaving many crises unsolved.

Thomas Dekkar gives such a fine performance that we are able to see inside his heart and head and soul. The supporting cast conveys the small town response to a tragedy among their own - who is guilty of what and how could the incident have ever occurred. There are many ideas created by the writers and the characters that are never realized fully, but the sense of human response to an accident is staggeringly real. There is much more to this film in retrospect, after watching it, that haunts the viewer.

Grady Harp

This is a realistic and heart wrenching movie about loss and imperfection. Anyone with children has had a moment where you turn your back or look away and when you turn back there is a total sense of panic when you don't know if your child is safe. This father makes a big error in judgement, but that isn't what this movie is about. It's about the fragile connections we have with other people, the way people (even the district attorney) try to make sense out of the senseless things in life. Like in life, there is a tragedy that touches many lives and it can't be dealt with by just assigning blame to someone. The actors all did a beautiful job of portraying the complicated emotions people have when dealing with loss.

Where to start? Like Scrabble, all the pieces are there! Thomas Dekker. Thomas Dekker looks like what Michael Jackson might have hoped for with his 23rd plastic surgery. Thomas Dekker could don a long hair wig and play a female role without any further assistance from the make up department. Am I supposed to believe that this guys is a rugged outdoorsman? Jeremy Piven should have played the lead role! You dragged him out the way up to Canada for his short role! The producer should have kicked out the extra dough to cast Piven as the lead! You might have made your money back! The fact is, any male actor in this film would have been better in the lead role than Dekker. Dekker's luscious eye lashes and gentle features are a huge distraction! He is a pretty boy cast for a role that requires someone a bit more rugged, to put it lightly! This story is excellent and could have been knocked out of the park with some better casting decisions!

Simple story with no twist or purpose really. Thousands of kids go missing every year and this story just reminds those families how easy it can happen. The film tells a simple tragic story with little to no entertainment value. Story line is thin, acting in most cases questionable and direction amateurish. Would we watch it again - No. Not retained for future viewing.