First Snow

Like a first snow, Mark Fergus’s psychological thriller is unpredictable, but doesn’t quite stick. Fast-talking salesman Jimmy (Pearce) has a strange encounter with a mysterious psychic (Simmons), who predicts that Jimmy’s life will end when the titular precipitation occurs. Initially dismissing the soothsayer as a charlatan, Jimmy soon begins to dwell on the morbid reading, which inspires him to confront past mistakes, mend old rifts and question man’s control over destiny. A skilled performance by Pearce makes Jimmy’s existential crisis compelling, but ultimately, the film has more style than substance. (Opens Fri; Click here for venues.) — Erin Clements