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Angels Crest: movie review

( R ) ( Monitor Movie Guide )

A toddler's death pushes a snowbound town into taking sides in 'Angels Crest,' a melodrama trying to be tragic drama.

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Gus Ruelas/Reuters
Jeremy Piven plays a district attorney in Gaby Dellal's new film 'Angels Crest.'
  • By Peter Rainer Film critic

A snowbound rural community is immersed in guilt and remorse following the death of a 3-year-old boy in "Angels Crest," a garbled melodrama striving to be tragic drama. Ethan (Thomas Dekker), a single father, momentarily leaves his little boy, Nate, alone in his truck while he tracks a deer and, upon returning, finds the boy gone. He is discovered frozen to death, and sorrowful Ethan is pursued by a local district attorney (Jeremy Piven) for criminal negligence.
 
A lot of good actors show up -- among them Lynn Collins as Ethan's alcoholic wife, Mira Sorvino as the owner of a local diner, and Elizabeth McGovern as a mother with her own issues -- but the results, especially given the harrowing subject matter, are distinctly underwhelming. Gaby Dellal directed from a script by Catherine Trieschmann based on a novel by Leslie Schwartz.
 
The best thing about the film is the majestic mountain vistas, shot in Canada. You can practically inhale them. Grade: C- (Rated R for language and some sexual content.)

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