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Ever since Dustin Hoffman twitched his way to an Oscar for Rain Man (1988), autism has been the subject of a many a soggy melodrama. Thankfully director Marc Evans shows a light touch with Snow Cake and Sigourney Weaver delivers an infectious performance as Linda, full of childlike abandon. A dour Alan Rickman is her perfect counterpoint and their constant grating on each other’s nerves creates a delicious mix of cool humour and heart-warming drama.

Weaver has an easier job than Hoffman since Linda’s type of autism allows for florid verbal expression and her outbursts neatly highlight the polite insincerity of mainstream society. Still, she performs a skilful balancing act from the moment Alex (Rickman) knocks on Linda’s door to announce that her daughter has been killed in a road accident. Linda remains placid, making it more awkward for Alex who neglected to see the oncoming truck. It’s precarious for the director too, yet he manages to make an awful situation funny without undermining the tragedy.

"A STORY ABOUT EXCISING DEMONS"

Alex agrees to stay a few days and put out the bins for Linda, but this is really a story about excising demons. It’s only slightly dented by a couple false notes; the revelation about Alex’s past, conveniently mirroring his present dilemma, and a romance with Linda’s wild-at-heart neighbour (Carrie-Anne Moss). The real power comes in slight shifts in the relationship between Alex and Linda as they try to fit around each other. Like icebergs, they collide in slow-motion and their innermost fears show through in the cracks. Ultimately it’s a deeply moving, life-affirming tale - the many scathing one-liners are just icing on the cake.

Snow Cake is released in UK cinemas on Friday 8th September 2006.