Unlike the novel, the film also incorporates an initial stage of relationships that I am sure we are all familiar with: the “do they like me back” battle we have internally. The new representation of the LGBTQ+ community gives the film more nuance. This is an important adaption for a number of reasons. She was given her own spotlight, as she struggles trying to figure out if the girl she likes reciprocates her feelings. This breakup is paralleled with the novel, but Dorrie’s story is not. Addie’s story follows her dealing with the hard part of a relationship-a breakup, or potential breakup in her case. This one follows Addie’s best friend, Dorrie. I mentioned that the novel follows three love stories, but the movie decided to add a fourth. This was one of my favorite sub-stories in the novel and the changes they made in the movie made me love it even more.Ĭhange 2: The other major change in the film is more notable and had a much larger impact on the plot. She ends up on the train because she is trying to find a gift for her mother, not because she is being sent to Florida. Julie’s family plays a larger role in the movie and her character is more dynamic in some ways, and that makes her story with Stuart even more sweet. Personally, I think this change allowed their story to come to life even more. Most of this stays consistent in the movie, except that Jubilee’s name becomes Julie, she is not headed to Florida, and Stuart is a famous musician. She meets Stuart on the train and they spend the day together. In the written version, Jubilee is on the train headed to Florida, but it gets stuck in Gracetown. Still, this is writer/director Stanislav Kapralov’s first feature, and it’s rare to come across a film from that part of Europe – especially produced so well – so I’ll not rule out watching another from the same team.Change 1: The first of these changes comes from the story of Julie and Stuart, known in the book as Jubilee and Stuart. When we are given a little background to the stranger’s motives, it’s too slight to even be called a back story. Surprisingly for a “slasher in the snow”, there’s actually not much violence either. Thanks to a prologue, there is little mystery. Along with the subtle music, this is almost enough to give Let it Snow some atmosphere. He takes full advantage of the few contrasts available, with steep rock faces, evening skies, and red roses (!) all captured beautifully. Somehow, five days of trekking through snow and avoiding a baddie do not all look the same and even with occasional foggy and twilight scenes, all the action is clear too. Granted, for a good deal of the film she is simply freezing and stumbling, but her reactions to both, as well as to her isolation and fear, make me want to reach out and hug her.Īs well as Sakhno, the other name I really want to praise is Yevgeny Usanov for his cinematography. Both play their parts with sincerity, though out of the two, we see Ivanna Sakhno for a much greater proportion of the film and indeed, she is outstanding: Let it Snow gives her a much better showcase than Pacific Rim: Uprising did. On the trip, Max does his best to impress Mia, while Mia is a little more risk-aware. The couple has believable chemistry, especially through the occasional flashbacks that develop a romantic tragedy angle. When their excursion is barely started, the pair become separated, and Mia encounters a stranger dressed all in black (of course) who doesn’t mean for either of them to get home. Their hotel receptionist warns them about the dangers of the area that Max is so excited about, known as Black Ridge – a warning reinforced by their helicopter pilot – but they go anyway. Let it Snow is about a young couple, Max (Alex Hafner) and Mia (Ivanna Sakhno), who take a trip to the mountains of Georgia for some Christmas snowboarding. It should be a survival/serial killer thriller, but it’s simply not exciting, and there isn’t enough depth to the plot. It looks great, but under that sheen, it’s unfortunately insubstantial. There isn’t much to say about Let it Snow.
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