Linda Freeman

Linda Freeman is a main character of the 2006 American drama movie Snow Cake.

Character creation
The character was based on the screenwriter's 9-year-old autistic son. Sigourney Weaver did do a lot of research and talked with autistic speaker Ros Blackburn, even spending a few days at her place, in preparation for the role.

Biography
Linda Freeman lives in Wawa, Canada, with her daughter Vivienne, before the latter dies in a car crash at the beginning of the film. Few specifics are given about Vivienne's father, only that it was a boy in Linda's day centre. Linda's father expresses his concern over the fact that he isn't sure whether it was consensual, a concerning statement, especially because people with disabilities are at a higher risk of sexual abuse. Linda's parents - Dirk and Ellen - raised Vivienne for the first 16 years, because Linda was unable to. At some point down the road, Vivienne moves back in with Linda.

In regards to the death of her daughter, she keeps an outwardly sober look and does not show much grieving. However, a deleted scene does show her getting heart-broken over her snow-men that have been destroyed by neighbourhood kids - snow-men she said she'll build whenever she missed Vivienne.

Autism
Linda shows a variety of stimming throughout the film: twirling her hair, looking at lights and snow globes, eating snow, rocking, hand-flapping, jumping on a trampoline, frequent vocalisations. She also often does not look people in the eye when talking.

Her house is very clean and orderly, and she frequently cleans and organises the place, especially the kitchen. Her prospensity for organisation and cleanliness lead her to a meltdown when Vivienne's dog Marilyn throws up on the carpet.

In general, Linda's relationships with others are rather utilitarian. She needs Vivienne to do chores that she herself can't do (such as putting out the trash), and only asks Alan to stay because he'll need to put out the trash in Vivienne's place.

Reception
The portrayal of Linda Freeman is a controversial one. Her behaviour and overall character design resemble more that of an autistic child than of an autistic adult, which may be partly explained by the fact that her character is based on the screenwrier's 9-year-old autistic son. The character has been criticised for being a one-dimensional plot device whose purpose is only to help develop other characters, although some deleted scenes do give a little bit of insight into her character.