Snow Cake

The Story

Ex-convict Alex Hughes (Alan Rickman) befriends an autistic woman named Linda (Sigourney Weaver) after he is traumatized by a car accident in which her daughter Vivienne is killed.

Autistic Characteristics Portrayed

- Difficulty with social interactions,

- Lack of nonverbal communication (eye contact)

- Preoccupations with flashy lights ("sparklies"), snow/snowflakes, trampoline

- Obsession with cleanliness - can't touch garbage, won't allow anyone in her kitchen

- Difficulty with changes to routine

- Takes things very literally

- Different sensory experiences

What We Liked

Sigourney Weaver does a wonderful job of presenting a portrait of an individual autistic woman without playing to stereotypes or generalities. Linda has her own set of idiosyncrasies, likes and dislikes, and ways of interacting (or not) with the world around her. While avoiding many often-portrayed stereotypes, Weaver is simultaneously very believable in her role. The film presents many opportunities for Linda to interact with the community around her (or rather, for the community to interact with her) and presents an accurate picture of the struggles that autistics face when interacting with naïve NTs.

One of my personal favorite scenes was between Alex, Linda, and one of Linda's neighbors. The neighbor says to Linda, "It must be so awful losing a child," to which Linda replies, "I didn't lose her, she's dead." Alex tries to apologize on Linda's behalf but the neighbor lady explains, "Oh that's alright, I know all about autism. I saw the movie." I think it's probably safe to assume this was meant to be a snarky dig at the people who think they understand autism because they've seen Rain Man. In my opinion, it was hilarious.

While the focus of the film is really on Alex and the battle he wages with his own inner demons, Linda is without a doubt the catalyst for his eventual transformation. Alex learns from Linda's ability to adapt to her own issues and abilities that he too can confront his demons.

What We Didn't

Snow Cake actually portrayed autism in a fairly positive, accurate light. The film was written by Angela Pell who, not surprisingly, is the mother of an autistic son. Prior to filming, Sigourney Weaver researched autism for close to a year and was coached by an autistic woman. In a press interview she stated that she wanted to avoid generalizing about autism because she recognized that it exists on a spectrum. Overall I think the film did an excellent job of presenting an individual autistic person as opposed to the usual caché of stereotypes that attempt to lump the entire autism spectrum into one character.

Overall Grade: A