First Snow Reviews

The movie has a lovely paranoia about it that Pearce, as Memento and L.A. Confidential told us, is a master at conveying.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5

Predictability hangs over Mark Fergus's skillful debut feature, but not enough to detract from the intensity of the mood, the rhythm, and the performances.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

A first rate thriller, First Snow is about a man haunted by his past who revisits it in a bid to change his destiny. It's a terrific role for Guy Pearce, who ably carries the film on his shoulders

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A fresh, intelligent and thoroughly involving psychological thriller.

I was beguiled by both the eerie moods and the striking compositions, which incorporate large stretches of empty space.

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A smart, tense modern film noir.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

First Snow is an auspicious directorial debut for Mark Fergus. It will be interesting to see what he does next.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

Brings little new to the genre apart from another outstanding performance by Pearce.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4

The film has some of the bleak inevitability of Jim Jarmusch's Dead Man, but without the compelling characters and oddball twists.

Full Review | Original Score: C

First Snow is a sharp thriller with abstract pretentiousness. The writers were clever enough to approach a simple philosophical question in a devious and brusque way.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

A haunting neo-noir about a man told by a palmist that his karma is about to run over his dogma.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

...the interest dissipates pretty quickly and the movie becomes a dreary plod...

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5

The subdued ending might disappoint those hoping for a more lively denouement, but really, it seems just right for a tale as chilly as this one.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4

Offers the satisfaction of a compelling story well told.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5

[The filmmakers] raise intriguing questions about fate and destiny, and they get a soulful performance from Pearce.

| Original Score: 3/4

Fate plays havoc with a salesman's existence in [this] bleak psychological thriller about life and death in the New Mexico desert.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

It's a film of great promise, but loses dramatic circulation the longer it spends time chasing its own tail.

Full Review | Original Score: C

Co-screenwriter/director Mark Fergus isn't able to build any palpable tension. And the fact that we're not really rooting for his protagonist to survive works against the material.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4

Takes a silly premise -- a fortune teller predicts imminent doom! -- and spins it into a thoughtful, intelligent story about fate vs. free will.

Full Review | Original Score: B

This is first-rate work from a talented actor who is fated to become a star.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4