Sundance. Snow Angels.

"David Gordon Green's fourth feature, the casual yet deeply serious, soulful Snow Angels continues along his own lovely path, reaching into particulars of working class life with wit and empathy," writes Ray Pride at Movie City Indie.

"Based on Stewart O'Nan's 1994 novel (with a screenplay by Green, crafting his first adaptation), Snow Angels packs together three interlocking stories into a tense running time, with dense layers of tragedy sprinkled liberally throughout its sprawling yarn," writes Eric Kohn, who takes notes on the post-screening Q&A for the Reeler.

"[E]verything is placed with the same attention to perfect detail as his previous three feature films, Undertow, All the Real Girls and his best film, George Washington," writes Steve Ramos at indieWIRE. "The undeniable truth of Green's filmmaking is that there is no ambivalence about his movies. You either love his sense of deliberately paced naturalism or you find it lulling. Point Blank: I am a fan and will always celebrate his work."

"In the end, Snow Angels is perhaps best understood as a study in community isolation, in which personal connections are inevitably fleeting and the private pain of others, as suggested by the final shot, is all too easily forgotten," suggests Variety's Justin Chang.

"Strong stuff that mops up the floor with the likes of Little Children," writes Premiere's Glenn Kenny.

"This is my favorite of his films to date," declares Anne Thompson.

Updates, 1/23: Mike D'Angelo at ScreenGrab: "Those hoping for a return to the woozy lyricism of George Washington and All the Real Girls will likely be disappointed: Formally, this is Green's most conventional work to date, with only a handful of touches that are recognizably his own."

On the other hand, Cinematical's James Rocchi: "It's still a film that's identifiably his, even as it has the potential to turn him from a lesser-known indie director into an A-level dramatist."

Update, 1/24: IndieWIRE has its usual set of questions for DGG, yes, but also a video interview.

Updates, 1/26: Craig Phillips takes extensive notes on a panel featuring Green, Tamara Jenkins, Gregg Araki and Hal Hartley.

Beth Gilligan at Not Coming to a Theater Near You: "Snow Angels is by far the most plot-driven of his films, but unlike in Undertow, where his confidence as a filmmaker seemed to erode somewhat when forced to shift into more conventional narrative gears, here he handles the multifaceted story with aplomb."

Alison Willmore at the IFC Blog: "It's his most solid film to date, and the best we've seen in this solid festival of solid films ready to be sold for what will hopefully be a solid profit."

Update, 1/28: Online listening tip. Cinematical's James Rocchi talks with DGG.

Updates, 1/29: Tom Hall: "Snow Angels announces a new phase in the filmmaking career of David Gordon Green.... It may not be comfortable or fun, but the movie was, alongside Chris Smith's The Pool, the most accomplished and deeply felt feature I saw in the competition."

Eric Kohn: "[H]is finest achievement... It's American Beauty for smart people."

Coverage of the coverage: The Park City Index.

Posted by dwhudson at January 21, 2007 5:02 AM