Sigourney Weaver -- an actor with extraordinary wit and smarts -- playing a woman with autism, a woman whose way of experiencing the world has very strictly delineated limits, in Marc Evans' "Snow Cake." Weaver's character, Linda, is independent: She lives in a house of her own, in the small, snowy town of Wawa, Ontario, and has a job stacking shelves at a local grocery store. She's reasonably capable of carrying on a conversation, although her social skills are virtually nonexistent. When a stranger, an Englishman traveling through Canada named Alex (Alan Rickman), shows up at her house, she says, mechanically, "I'm supposed to offer you a cup of tea," as if she were remembering something that had been drummed into her in a classroom long ago. She shows little emotion and lacks compassion for others. She's childlike at times, gazing with glassy-eyed delight at a sparkly ball, or jumping, with gleeful obsessiveness, on the trampoline in her backyard. When she's excited or agitated, her hands curl up into little claws.
Is this a believable and accurate portrayal of what a high-functioning autistic person would be like? Maybe. Did the role demand tons of preparation and concentration on Weaver's part? There's no doubt. ("Snow Cake" was written by Angela Pell, who drew on her own experience with her 7-year-old son's autism.)
Is this a believable and accurate portrayal of what a high-functioning autistic person would be like? Maybe. Did the role demand tons of preparation and concentration on Weaver's part? There's no doubt. ("Snow Cake" was written by Angela Pell, who drew on her own experience with her 7-year-old son's autism.)