This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

Intriguing but ultimately uneven film that has it's best moments when Guy Pearce and J K Simmons are on screen together. It does not work so much when they are not, which is the bigger part of the film of course.It is a bitty film and the biggest element against the film is the fact that, you don't care enough for Pearce's character.Not a bad film just very average.

This movie did run in the same vein as Memento and The Machinist; the whole feel of the movie was very surreal and you wondered what the outcome would be. I didn't feel quite as much tension as I would have liked, but it still kept me wondering how things would turn out. It portrays how your past can always catch up to you. Guy Pearce did an excellent job.I also have a question about the music in the movie. I have done a search of all the music in the credits, but cannot figure out which song is playing in the background during the bathtub scene. Can anyone tell me what it is?

Does such a thing as Fate truly determine the course of our lives - or are human beings just naturally prone to look for patterns where none may actually exist? That is the metaphysical question raised by "First Snow," an extraordinarily well-made and engrossing psychological thriller starring Guy Pearce as a cynical traveling salesman whose life is turned upside down when a roadside fortuneteller (J.K. Simmons) predicts he will die before the first snow falls. Yet Jimmy Starks soon learns that being the target of such a dire forecast may not be an entirely bad thing, for it can, if used properly, serve to build character, liberate the soul, help one find inner peace and self-acceptance, and, ironically, give one a brand new lease on life (however short that life may turn out to be).Adding to Jimmy's problems is the sudden return into his life of an ex-business partner whom Jimmy sold up the river a few years back. Jimmy is suddenly forced to live his life on a two-way track: running from perceived threats while, at the same time, learning to embrace his Sword of Damacles fate.In this beautifully paced and exquisitely shot film, director Mark Fergus makes the high desert setting an integral part of the movie's otherworldly mood and tone. Fergus' screenplay - co-written with Hawk Ostby - is shot through with a tremendous sense of foreboding and menace, while Cliff Martinez' haunting score greatly enhances that effect.Pearce is riveting as a man who finds himself simultaneously contending with the wildly disparate feelings of fear, desperation, resignation and hope. No one plays these kinds of brooding characters better than Pearce and he is clearly at the top of his game here. He gets fine support from the likes of Rick Gonzalez, William Fichtner and Piper Perabo as the people Jimmy makes amends to as he prepares himself for his preordained date with destiny.Unfortunately, as with most films of this type, the buildup is ultimately more satisfying than the follow-through. Yet, even though the ending is a trifle flatfooted compared to the rest of the story, the movie, as a whole, is so rich in atmosphere and performance that you'll be glad you took the journey.

I really enjoyed 'First Snow', it's not totally unlike No Country For Old Men, has a little bit of a Stephen King like feel to the story ( a little pulpy, simple but powerful and entertaining). Also, it can be described as noir-ish (which usually helps a thriller greatly if done right), and the always cool Aussie Guy Pearce plays the lead, he's as close to a quality guarantee as is possible in cinema today, in that sense he resembles Edward Norton and Christian Bale.The existential theme goes only skin deep (the film biggest problem) and it can be called simplistic but all that doesn't make it any less effective, I felt the confinement the lead was going through, a dark sinister atmospheric cloud slowly formed throughout the film as the impending inevitable fate crawled closer by, Pearce's naturally emaciated look aided the believability of the character.A satisfying little film, a psychological thriller that's not the classic it could've been, but still a can't miss near-classic. 7.4/10