"Snow Angels" ***1/2 (out of four): Incisive, ferociously acted, relentlessly somber character piece by writer-director David Gordon Green features powerhouse performances by Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale.

In an unnamed American town, during a brutally cold winter, a high school marching band comically stumbles through a Simpsons-worthy butchering of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer". When the band leader (Tom Noonan) has finally had enough, he scolds the would-be musicians for not having "a sledgehammer in your hearts". This moment of satirical absurdity is pierced by two echoing gunshots in the distance. "Snow Angels", writer-director David Gordon Green's incisive, sobering film, then jumps "weeks earlier" and traces the events that led up to those shots. "Angels" is one of those movies that introduces the characters of a small town and then slowly peels away the layers to reveal dark, interwoven secrets. And it's a great example of this genre. It's on the level of films like "In the Bedroom", "The Sweet Hereafter" and the equally chilly "The Ice Storm". Like those films, the performances are at a level of naturalism that makes the film almost uncomfortable to watch at times. It almost feels like you're spying.

Read more on BigPictureBigSound...