Winter Passing
Actress Reese Holden has been offered a small fortune by a book editor if she can secure for publication the love letters that her father, a reclusive novelist, wrote to her mother, who has since passed away. Returning to Michigan, Reese finds that an ex-grad student and a would-be musician have moved in with her father, who cares more about his new friends than he does about his own health and well-being.
Member Reviews
I have seen this before - rnhaas
This is yet another pretty well-made sort of "indy" dramedy." As usual, it is reasonably effective: it is moderately funny and it has its moments of genuine pathos. And like so many of these movies, it is over-populated with eccentrics and their idiosyncrasies. That is the main problem with it. The other issue is that the against-type turns of Ferrell and Harris are a lot better than the lead performance. That being said, it's still better than a lot of stuff.Meaningful and Loopy - zaakistan
Think Garden State, but with a girl and less romance. Really, the similarities are many.
Zooey Deschanel acts her heart out as a depressed actress who faces her upbringing and her parents. Upon returning home for the first time in years, she finds her father has gone a bit loopy and has let a couple people move into the house. During her search for letters that her author father and author mother had written to each other, she begins to accept her lot and begins to live a little.
The supporting cast is terrific and the tone of the film (soundtrack, editing, and photography) really keeps it from going sideways. At some points the film slows, but the tension builds ever so slightly throughout making Winter Passing an enjoyable experience - and meaningful too. How often to we really think about the mental state of our parents when we were children?Another Gen-Y-Angst indie movie...with a great cast - Sushi
How about the good news about this movie first? The good news is that the casting and performances are fantastic - Zoey Deschanel is perfect as the cynical, street-savvy, angry-about-having-an-isolated-yet-cushy-childhood starving artist; Ed Harris is wonderful as the artist-that's-so-talented-he's-insane, and Will Ferrel is totally endearing as the mentally-slow-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold. And the story is mildly provoking, about a girl confronting her past and mother's death. It's a good thing the performances are as good as they are, otherwise this movie wouldn't be worth watching. The bad news about this film is that the Gen-Y angst really hits you over the head, what with its indie music soundtrack, dark atmosphere, and self-indulgent self-pitying. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I'm no hip-indie-junkie. So, enjoy this movie once with a bowl of popcorn, but you might not remember anything about it 12 months later.
Member Reviews
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I have seen this before - rnhaas
This is yet another pretty well-made sort of "indy" dramedy." As usual, it is reasonably effective: it is moderately funny and it has its moments of genuine pathos. And like so many of these movies, it is over-populated with eccentrics and their idiosyncrasies. ...Meaningful and Loopy - zaakistan
Think Garden State, but with a girl and less romance. Really, the similarities are many.
Zooey Deschanel acts her heart out as a depressed actress who faces her upbringing and her parents. Upon returning home for the first time in years, she finds her ...Another Gen-Y-Angst indie movie...with a great cast - Sushi
How about the good news about this movie first? The good news is that the casting and performances are fantastic - Zoey Deschanel is perfect as the cynical, street-savvy, angry-about-having-an-isolated-yet-cushy-childhood starving artist; Ed Harris is wonderful ...