thesnowleopard This little noir thriller from Vancouver plays out a destructive friendship between a depressed housewife and her childhood friend to an ugly conclusion. Laurel (Helene Joy) and her husband Michael (Ian Tracey) live in Desolation Sound on the coast of British Columbia with their daughter, Margaret (Emily Hirst). The movie doesn't waste time establishing them as a very unhappy family. The first scene shows Laurel and Michael rescuing Margaret from sleepwalking on the roof. The girl also steals things. Then, there's the girl's playmate, a really weird French-Canadian ex-con named Benny (Lothaire Bluteau, who is very good in a perfunctory supporting role). Benny lives in a trailer behind the house and makes creepy puppets with real hair. Yup, everybody has issues in this one. Soon after, Michael, a wildlife photographer, gets an assignment in the Aleutians which could solve the family's financial problems for quite some time. He takes it, despite Laurel clearly being unhappy about his always being on the road and the kid being miserable about his leaving again.Before he goes, Laurel's best friend, Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals), shows up unexpectedly. Her father has just died and she's fishing for sympathy. She is also an emotional pyromaniac. The film never comes out and says what her problems are, but words like "sociopath" and "borderline personality disorder" seem to float around her like the haze from the cigarettes that she smokes. Nor does she bring out the best in Laurel, who is already running around playing a distorted version of Supermom with a fixed, skeletal grin on her face. Elizabeth makes snarky comments to all and sundry, which Laurel cheerily waves off. Meanwhile, it's clear to the viewer (though not yet to Laurel) that Elizabeth has either seduced Michael already or is working on it really hard.Michael leaves. Laurel and Elizabeth go out to a bar where Elizabeth gets drunk and confesses to being an alcoholic (as if this weren't already obvious). She also confesses to having slept with Michael. Laurel doesn't take this well, getting up and smacking Elizabeth twice in the face before storming out with Margaret. Later that night, Elizabeth comes home, ingratiates herself back inside the house and then goes up onto the roof...and it all goes pear-shaped after that. Especially once Michael gets back early from his assignment.The script and direction are cold and clinical, which suits the two main characters and their problems. For a loving mom and smoldering slut, Laurel and Elizabeth are icy to the core. The beautiful, dark BC coastal scenery and some of the background music (particular RedSuedeRed's "Unlike You" during Laurel's scenes of artistic excess) contribute to a general feeling that the characters are drowning in cold water. The acting is good overall, especially Tracey as the husband and Hirst as the little girl. The scenes between father and daughter give the film its only real warmth.Canadian films often take tired situations and turn them upside down. People don't do what you think they will and things don't turn out the way you expect. This one is a good example and is well worth a look.

researchqueens I really enjoyed this film. I like the way the kid was acting out the mother's distress..re: the sleepwalking, stealing..etc. The layering of this film is lovely. It shows the complex nature of friendship and how we mirror each other's fears. I have been to the West Coast and was blown away how beautiful the cinematographer captured the look of it. The night scenes were so captivating I felt like I was there again. The subtleties in the script keep you thinking long after it has ended. I easily became emotionally attached To the characters and the general spookiness of it gave it a nice edge. The writer left out needless filler conversation leaving it to the Director to complete the moment. I was a little nervous about seeing Jennifer Beals again but her performance was outstanding. Refreshing to See a film less concerned with fast cuts and cheap fillers but Confident of it's slow pace and great writing.

annaandian Desolation Sound is a tastefully constructed thoughtful picture. It keeps you thinking long after the final credits. Haunting, spooky. I always new Jennifer Beals was good. This movie proves it. Helene Joy and Beals should work together more often. I would like to have seen more of Lothaire Bluteau. This was a good ensemble cast. The script was full of subtle nuance. I want to go to that place Desolation Sound. So beautiful to look at, a perfect place for this scary story to live. Perhaps there was too much music, although I liked the theme song. The director did a great job telling this story. I thought it was going one way then it surprised me. Really enjoyable. It just stays with you.

sophybliss Not the characters, mind you, the movie! Apparently the screenwriter (Glynis Davies, who appears as "Kathy")had several ideas of what was going on, but never really chose one to focus on. First we meet Laurel, Michael & Margaret Elliot. Laurel is scattered, nervous, seems to have something going on, but what is it....we never find out. Elizabeth sleepwalks, even venturing out on the roof (aha! important plot contrivance!), so maybe that's the focus, but no....not really. Michael is a photographer conveniently sent away on a six week assignment, just as Laurel's sexy "friend" Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals) shows up. He hangs around just long enough to establish that he and Elizabeth have had an affair, she smolders at him, he says "no" unconvincingly, then he's gone until the end of the movie. There seems to be more back story with this family, but it's never revealed.Desolation Sound gives off some spooky vibes in the beginning. There's a somewhat pathetic ex-addict guy who lives in a trailer,is Margaret's playmate (!!) and makes incredibly creepy puppets. After Elizabeth meets her fate, he steals some of her hair & makes a witchy looking puppet of her. Could Elizabeth's spirit be inhabiting Laurel, who dyes her hair black (like Elizabeth), starts smoking (ditto), becomes a slob (she was a neat freak before, which Elizabeth made fun of), and begins making bizarre witchy drawings??? She even has a quickie with the local cop (also Elizabeth-like). Laurel and Elizabeth made a blood pact! O-o-o-o, Could Laurel be possessed??? Nah, she's just weird apparently.This movie tries to be many things and ends up being a confused mush of nothingness. The acting isn't very good, there are lots of plot points left hanging (why DOES Laurel see the cop car after she dumps Elizabeth's suitcase in the lake???) and in the end there isn't a real resolution, just a convenient diary entry that gets Laurel off the hook. Bleah, give me "Diabolique" (1955 version, please) any day over this trash!!