Winter Passing (2005) User Reviews

Moody and Paced, Rather than Bland

[ahanson-1 · 7/10 · 23 September 2005]

Zooey Deschanel is quite easily the most interesting thing about this movie. It is slowly paced. It is an examination of one woman's journey through an emotional roadblock. There are many aspects of this film that are out of place and a bit frivolous, all indications of a young or new filmmaker. However, I think it deserves more credit that the above description.

This film surprised me with its various nuances, many of which are the difference between a love affair with New York City and the hate that develops when it's inhabitant realizes just how wonderful (and horrible) home can be. In addition to that, it has been some time since a film was able to be charming without being too forced, something I think they do not ultimately achieve, but it is not without merit.

As mentioned above, it is worth the price of admission to watch Zooey Deschanel work her way from solipsistic bitch to humbled and hurt woman. She is raw, honest, fun, and a bit of a fu*k up. Ed Harris brings her character a bit more alive, but he himself it not at his best. As an actor he does a fine job, though I have a feeling he was left out to dry a bit by the young director. Will Ferrel almost makes his way through without being funny, though he is not removed enough from his Saturday Night Live characters to really pull through. The audience I was with seemed to love him. I nearly didn't see the movie because he was in it.

When it comes down to it this film is a first-time film director used to working in a theater medium. The writing is strong, the story interesting and for all it's pit-falls and loop-holes, it still manages to make an emotional impact. Give it a second chance.

Well defined characters make you end up wanting more depth in the end

[oneloveall · 5/10 · 14 May 2006]

Winter Passing introduces a few great characters inside of an interesting family reconciliation plot, but fails to deliver with the results. Deschanel does a great job anchoring the film's emotional context as the very multidimensional, seemingly jaded Reese and the always dependable Ed Harris does more with one eye then many actors can emote during an impassioned speech. Will Ferrell however, despite being the go-to comedic relief in a very somber film, simply cannot disappear outside of himself enough as an actor to ever truly play a character other then his endless Saturday night live variations, and to me his awareness almost condescends the film's emotional impact. Nevertheless, the film will have you engaged in the offbeat family situation we are thrust into, only to have it become tied up way too neatly and quickly at the end. This lack of a thought out finale will make the emotional attachments made throughout the film with the main characters not as hard hitting as the movie perhaps intended, but still delivers a pretty solid, if a little unfulfilled, drama.

Searching For J.D. Salinger?

[thejulies · 6/10 · 24 May 2006]

Winter Passing is remarkable for several reasons. The performances of Zooey Deschanel and Ed Harris are resonant and moving. The look and the music of the film are quite lovely and evoke a hurt, longing that works well with the theme of the film. And finally, the story itself is remarkable for anyone who's familiar with the life and enigma of the writer J.D. Salinger. For anyone who has read his daughter, Margaret Salinger's wonderful memoir, "Dream Catcher," the film will play like a thinly veiled reference to her life with the highly lauded and tragically flawed father who is a legend and inspiration to generations and a horror as a father.

Enjoyable, if a little slight

[galfriday · 23 October 2005]

This would have made a great short film, and I don't mean that as an insult.

The idea of the plot is an interesting one, but didn't seem to hold my attention for the whole film, although the festival audience didn't seem to mind that much.

Adam Rapp is off to a good start as a director, it seems he hasn't done much, but I look forward to his next film. His work with the actors was marvelous, and the camera placement wonderful too. It's just that the story seemed a little, well, difficult to swallow. There's no missing the Salinger connection, and it seems as if every cliché about his life is crammed in here.

And as much as I love Will Farrell, his genius for comedy was somewhat of a distraction- it's just hard to believe him in this role. A solid actor without a public persona would have helped me stay in the story.

But overall, an enjoyable ride.

A good film passing

[philip-ct · 7/10 · 5 May 2006]

What a nice film! The premise is simple: Actress Reese Holden (played by Zooey Deschanel) is offered a lot of money if she can get hold of letters written to and by her late mother and father, novelist Don Holdin (played be Ed Harris). Reese hasn't seen her father for a long time; she hadn't gone to her mother's funeral. Ed Harris, performing with sensitivity and rigour (as in Pollock and The Hours)gives a fine performance as the socially maladaptive, reclusive "genius" counterpointed by s dazed, bewildered, but protective Corbit (Will Ferrell, who gives a fine performance. I've just seen him in The Producers, and physically/vocally he is *completely* different. It's a good role.) Like Pieces of April, the film works with silences, visual cues, and verbal cues intertwined. It is a film which is worth concentrating in - and Zooey Deschanel's performance as Reese Holdin is excellent. She doesn't go over the top, rather it is through a subdued range that she succeeds in winning over the audience. Don't miss this film, or let it pass you by.

Show, Don't Tell

[prescottindigo · 6/10 · 1 June 2006]

One of the challenges Winter Passing faces is getting the audience to empathize with characters enough to ride the film's emotional ups-and-downs. Director Adam Rapp took a risk by placing so many of the events which define each character outside of the story, instead conveying these details through conversations between characters (i.e. "Who's pills are these?" or "Who is Corbit and why does he live here?").

The potential reward of this "Tell-Don't-Show" approach is that the director can add dimension to the characters by providing a greater quantity of personal history and details. The risk, however, is that the audience won't invest enough emotionally in the characters to really care about what happens to them.

The acting was quite good; I'm always glad to see Will Ferrell push beyond his slapstick beginnings, and he and Zooey Deschanel have very believable chemistry. But by relying so heavily on dialogue and description, the film subverts the medium, and made it hard for me to identify with any of the four main characters.

**1/2

[edwagreen · 6/10 · 4 January 2017]

Often a very brooding film with characters who appear lifeless and just reciting their lines.

Basically, it's the story of a writer who finds inspiration to continue his work after a visit from his daughter. Of course, she has a motive for visiting-collecting money if she can secure the love letters her dad wrote to her now deceased mother.

The films just feels depressing and to me all the characters were stilted including Will Ferrell, who for a change acts in a dramatic role.d

Ed Harris is completely unrecognizable as the father. He looks like a flower child out of the 1960s with that long-white hair.

Just like the winter, you will be glad when this wintry film passes.

Animal lovers, be forewarned

[praisercheri · 1/10 · 12 August 2022]

This is from the Parents Guide:

"Reece drowns her own pet kitten by zipping it up in a bag and dropping it into the bay. The scene is disturbing even if little attention is given to it (filmed from a distance to music)."

Thank you to the person who posted this. You saved me from a heartbreaking scene.

Voice of the Illiterate

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 8 March 2006]

Greetings again from the darkness. When writers attempt to tackle too many themes in one story, usually none are complete. Writer and Director Adam Rapp (brother Anthony is of "Rent" fame and has a brief cameo in this one) is extremely ambitious as he explores parenthood, artistic genius, friendship, community, guilt and the desire to feel love and pain. Surprisingly Rapp is mostly successful in pulling off a most complex script.

Ed Harris stars as a reclusive writer with more than a nod to J.D. Salinger (his last name is Holden ... get it?). In poor health and being taken care of by a former student (Amelia Warner) and a broken down rhythm guitarist (Will Ferrell), Harris is taken aback when his long lost daughter (Zooey Deschanel) shows up one day. Drastically altering the dynamics of this bizarre little community, Deschanel literally steals the film. She spills her soul on screen and we somehow understand her habit of slamming her hand in a drawer just to feel something. She is a pitiful person seeking redemption and her place in life.

Harris and Warner are fine in their roles, but Ferrell is a real distraction. As a viewer, we don't see the character. We see Will Ferrell on screen ... acting goofy and clumsily mumbling his lines. His open mike night could easily have been an SNL skit. This movie would have been much better with a straight forward actor in this role. That said, I still have faith Ferrell will succeed as a dramatic actor. If Robin Williams could make the transition, surely Elf can.

If you might enjoy multi-layered story telling, a tremendous performance by Zooey and can look past Will Ferrell, this movie has a lot to offer.

Moody blues.

[kerinsky · 6/10 · 29 October 2006]

This is a "small subject" (a few inter-personal relationships), "mood" (mostly dark) film. It's set in New York City, and somewhere in the state of Michigan; current (2005 +/-) period.

I found it mildly engaging, but not memorable; well-done, but not exceptional. I did not go into the film with much bias for or against the cast and director, and came away the same.

I never quite got to the point of really caring about any of the characters -- I couldn't identify with nor "like'" the people portrayed, nor even find them very interesting. The acting was fairly good, but the roles were too shallowly developed, and most of the characters were overly much on the edge. The Corbit character was so inexplicably odd (there was more explanation for the other odd characters), that he puzzled and then alienated me.

The story-line was thin, but mostly credible.

Overall, there wasn't enough ancillary presentation (originality, complexity / challenge, intrigue, larger- statement, photogenics, music, action, or just plain "charm") to to raise the quality of the viewing experience to an "attractive" level.

I should also add that I am not a fan of the genre, and the graphic on the cover (on the video-store shelf) somehow misled me to think that there would be some lightness / humor within.

I rate the film a 6, out of 10.

Animal abuse is not necessary

[leosun-23078 · 1/10 · 10 August 2018]

This movie was pretty slow but after the scene where she drowns the kitten, I had to turn it pff. It was an unnecessary scene.

Inside the Box

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 29 May 2006]

Though the cover for the DVD of WINTER PASSING (a photo of the four main characters crowded into a box) may make many potential viewers pass over this little film, thinking that it must be silly slapstick, this is a fine film written and directed with finesse and style by Adam Rapp, a new face whose talents have been somewhat limited to working on episodes of the TV series 'The L Word'. Rapp gives notice of a fine writer and an equally fine director in this barely noticed little touching movie.

Reese Holdin (Zooey Deschanel) lives in New York, an actress relegated to small parts in off Broadway theater while spending her days as a bartender hooked on alcohol, drugs and casual sex. Her life seems dead-ended: she has become anesthetized by her manner of living. An agent (Amy Madigan) approaches her with an offer to pay her for the letters between her parents, both once famous authors. Her mother has just died, and Reese didn't attend her funeral, so distant does she feel is her relationship to her past. But the spark of money moves her to ride a bus back to her Michigan home to salvage the letters to sell for publication.

Arriving home she is greeted by the weird Corbit (Will Ferrell), a Christian electric guitar player and composer who ears black eyeliner etc, but does care for Reese's severely alcoholic father - the once famous writer Don Holdin (Ed Harris) who hasn't written a novel in years and lives in the garage of his home under the care of Corbit and an ex-student Shelley (Amelia Warner), a bright very young girl with demons of her own. Reese works at reconnecting with her father, struggles with her resentment for the 'caregivers', and ultimately finds the letters she came for, only to make discoveries about her dysfunctional family and her father's status that alters her view of his value as her parent.

The movie is rather stagy and most of the action is unspoken, and while that technique of telling this particular story seems exactly right to this viewer, there are some who will feel frustrated at the rather static pace of the film. Zooey Deschanel once again proves that she is one of our finest actresses on the screen and hopefully this role will bring her to the attention of casting agents and result in our seeing more of this gifted actress in the future. Ed Harris is superb as the wasted, quietly grieving has-been author, keeping his performance understated and in doing so creating a character that is indelible in our minds long after the movie is over. Amelia Warner is also a fine little actress and even galumphing Will Ferrell brings more than his usual tiring comedic talents to this touching role. In all this is a movie that deserves wide attention. There is more to quietly hear and understand about interpersonal relationships than we would expect from the cover! Grady Harp

A Sort of Homecoming; Deschanel delivers

[george.schmidt · 7/10 · 27 February 2006]

WINTER PASSING (2006) **1/2 Zooey Deschanel, Ed Harris, Will Ferrell, Amelia Warner, Amy Madigan, Deirdre O'Connell, Sam Bottoms, Dallas Roberts, Anthony Rapp, Rachel Dratch.

A Sort Of Homecoming.

Zooey Deschanel is one of my favorite contemporary actresses on screen ever since I saw her as the Zen-like rock aficionado stewardess sister in "Almost Famous" and has continued to do yeoman like work since popping up in mainstream fare ("Elf") and indie jewels (stole the show from Jennifer Aniston in "The Good Girl") that she may be giving Parker Posey a run for her money as the Indie Queen.

In this outing, a true showcase for her talent, she stars as a disillusioned and unhappily sardonic young woman named Reese Holden, a struggling actress who is the daughter of the brilliant genius of his generation author, Don Holden (Harris, in a rather low-key turn) who remains a recluse in their native rural Michigan. One night after a show she is approached by a literary type named Lori Lansky (Harris' significant other Madigan) who wants to purchase letters written by her father and her mother, correspondences that will fetch a hefty fee. At first Reese is hesitant and stand-offish but when she sees her miserably life is going nowhere fast with meaning less sex with an ex and a cancer stricken kitty (in arguably the film's saddest sequence) she takes the offer for $100, 000 ; half now half when she delivers and treks back home for a homecoming of sorts.

Unannounced she arrives to find Don is rather unkempt and besides himself with grief over the recent suicide of his wife and Reese's mother that he has holed up in the battered outdoor garage, shirking his bedroom set of furniture onto the snowy backyard and converting that into a golf range for practice that he attends to daily with an odd young man named Corbit (Ferrell, dialed down low as well thankfully) a failed rock guitarist who looks over the frail Don for his own good and shares the cozy, yet old farmhouse with Shelly (Warner) a Brit who was one of Don's students who has also moved in sharing the care. Reese is perplexed, angry and bitter with her sniping at Shelly, who is seen as a de facto daughter Don has apparently replaced for the time being in her absence and finds Corbit an amusing source of ranting to.

Deschanel offers some subtle shading to her complex character who is at odds with her life and her past. She wants so badly to have her father love her and approve of her career since she is the by-product of two literary types and cannot feel anything unless she deliberately rams open drawers onto her knuckles to experience real pain that has ebbed and flowed for so long. However she eventually comes to grips in the long run.

Written and directed by Adam Rapp (playwright sibling of actor Anthony best known for RENT and has a cameo) the film is trapped in its play like acts yet also engages with some dark humor and occasionally well executed sequences of true drama. Harris, replete with a shaggy white wig disconcertingly looking like a roadie for The Allman Brothers Band, makes the most of his meaty, troubled character and Ferrell has some nice moments too (re-uniting with his previously mentioned "Elf" co-star) including an odd yet touching open-mike night choice of The Eagles "I Can't Tell You Why". Newcomer Warner is a welcome diversion with her pretty visage and cut-to-the-bone no-nonsense deliveries. Terry Stacey's cinematography evokes a short story come to life with its natural light settings and glimpses of nature surrounding the film.

Again Deschanel (who I like to think is my parallel universe soul mate) is the reason to see the film if not for the merits of its well-meaning filmmaker.

The Start of the movie i so unpleasant, it lost any sympathy that I might have.

[aceellaway2010 · 1/10 · 17 October 2016]

I give this movie a very low rating purely because of the opening irresponsible opening scene. The lead character played by Zoe D.( a career handicapped by awful last name) takes and nurses a sweet kitten, and then she zips it into a bag and throws it in a river. She had other options, she could have taken it to an animal shelter, she could have gone door-to-door and said "Please, I am homeless, can you take my kitten", She could have stood outside a Wal-Mart with a sign. SHE COULD HAVE TAKEN IT With her, but no she cold blooded condemns the poor little thing to a terrifying and long death. I did watch the movie because I am a strong Ed Harris fan, but hate the initial scene and the message it sends out, and that no one Director, Crew, Actors, would think this perpetuation that drowning is an acceptable way to kill. Not her fault but I find myself disliking Zoey D, and will probably not watch another of her films.

Slow, awkward pacing and promotes animal cruelty

[Shastindia · 3 April 2010]

Zooey is one of the few positive things about the film. She did a nice job with the one-dimensional part that was written for her.

The film's pacing seemed a bit off and some scenes were tedious. An emotional attachment for the protagonist and rooting for her success never seemed to get off the ground before Reese proved she was not worthy of such an emotional connection.

I probably could have forced myself to stay with it a little longer but the gratuitous drowning of the kitten pretty much wrapped it for me. After that, I could have cared less if a bus ran over Reese.

I'm thinking that this is just a great message to send to the witless wonders of the world that it's okay to toss a kitten into the river instead of taking it to a shelter or veterinarian to have it humanely euthanized.

The more I think about it the more I dislike the movie.

Hopefully, one day Rapp will mature and comprehend how much film influences the masses and choose not to promote animal cruelty.

Sad Girl

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 13 June 2015]

Reese Holden (Zooey Deschanel) is a struggling NY actress with many personal problems. She's offered $100k by Lori Lansky to get her reclusive writer father (Ed Harris)'s love letters with her mother. Her mother had recently died but she didn't go to her funeral. She goes home to find her father living with his former student Shelly (Amelia Warner) and weird musician Corbit (Will Ferrell). Her father is withdrawn and she's haunted by her troubled childhood.

Writer/director Adam Rapp is doing a somewhat mixed indie. Zooey Deschanel is losing her quirkiness for a real sad character. I wish she had more substantial conversations with Ed Harris but he ends up catatonic in most of the movie. Then there is Will Ferrell who seems intent to be quirky and it's ill-fitting. It's interesting to see Zooey take a slight turn and this indie has a few interesting moments.

Good, but could have been great

[grantss · 7/10 · 3 March 2014]

Good, but could have been great. Solid plot, well directed. Heavy on emotion, relationships and character-based drama. Does overdo the kookiness though. Plus, it leaves a lot of things unresolved, though maybe that's the point.

Zooey Deschanel is solid in the lead role. Good to see her in an edgy role for once. She usually plays sweet innocent characters (not that I am complaining though - I loved her in 500 Days of Summer). Here she is a selfish, chain-smoking, cocaine-snorting, foul-mouthed bitch.

Ed Harris is superb in the role of the father, though this is to be expected. (He seems to revel in portraying sick/depressed/emotionally scarred characters). Interesting to see Will Ferrell in a dramatic role, and he does OK in it.

Slow Pace, but worth the overall effort.

[Turriff · 6/10 · 6 March 2007]

Honestly, I'm not sure I liked this movie enough to spend a lot of time writing about it. It had some good performances, and I was happy to see Ferrell in a movie with a script that doesn't need him to take his pants off. I'm a big fan now, after Talladega Nights. I think Harris is good, too, but maybe he's always good. It can be hard to tell.

Winter Passing, under direction from Adam Rapp (his first), comes across with a mildly haunting mood that stays most of the film. Zooey's character's disconnect is palatable, and the surrealness of it all seems to fit without jarring. Pacing is slow, but it fits the mood.

While nothing is overtly wrong with this movie, nothing lends itself to making it stand out, either. I feel a bit like Randy from American Idol, when he likes the person singing, but not the performance. He starts real slow, and says, "Well... Dawg... I don't know what to say, really..."

This is what I have to say about this film. I Don't Know What To Say, But It Wasn't A Waste of Time. If it helps, my girlfriend liked it.

Sleeping would be a better way to spend your time

[scabpicker · 1/10 · 5 December 2008]

This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen, despite touting a cast that I adore. Painfully aware of itself and desperate to fit the "indie" mold, this film is the pits. You know those girls in college that brood and "secretly" cut themselves but then go out in tank tops because they want you to know how deep they are? That's basically the same thing this movie is trying to do: prove that it's naturally deep when it's just a calculated genre film (sad that indie is now a genre instead of a means of producing something via independent financing). If you're that eager to waste your time I suggest taking a nap over watching this movie.

Review from 2005 TIFF

[riid · 9/10 · 12 September 2005]

Winter Passing is a world premier at the festival and the first feature film from playwright and author Adam Rapp, who wrote the screenplay and directed. The film follows Reese, a young actress played by Zooey Deschanel, who returns home from New York when a book publisher asks her to find the correspondence between her parents, both famous authors. Reese is drifting through life, so detached that she takes to slamming drawers on her hand just to feel something.

She travels to her family home in Michigan, only to find that her ailing and eccentric father (Ed Harris) has taken in one of his former grad students (Amelia Warner) and a former Christian rocker (Will Ferrell), after the death of his wife and Reese's mother. Reese's interactions with her father and the pseudo-family that has collected around him prompt her to expose her feelings about her childhood and relationship with her parents, and to come to terms with her own life.

I thought this was an excellent film, especially considering this was Rapp's directorial debut. Zooey Deschanel gives a wonderful, emotional performance as Reese, and Will Ferrell does a restrained, thoughtful turn as the rocker/handyman Corbit. Rapp's story and characters were interesting, and the occasional light comic moments provided a nice counterpoint to the dramatic, emotional story at the heart of the film. I thought this was a film well worth watching.

Writer/director Adam Rapp was present for a Q&A session after the film:

• The film came to being when Rapp was up for a grant through the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which had produced a couple of his plays. He came up with a synopsis for a four-character play set in the garage, and at the end, the garage door would open to reveal the furniture in the back yard. However, he didn't get the grant.

At the time, he had signed with a west coast agent who suggested he write a screenplay. This prompted Rapp to open the story up, starting with Reese's departure from New York. Once he had finished it, Rapp said he couldn't imagine anyone but him screwing it up.

• On the subject of casting, Rapp said he first wrote to Ed Harris, who called him back three days later saying he wanted to do the movie. Having Harris on board allowed Rapp to attract other actors to at least read the script.

At the time, Rapp shared the same agency with Will Ferrell. Rapp's agent suggested Ferrell for the film, but Rapp was hesitant because Ferrell was so big and was becoming very famous, and the character of Corbit is such a loner, kind of lost in the world, and trying to disappear, in many of the same ways as Ed Harris' character. But when Rapp met Ferrell, Ferrell was very decisive about how he wanted to do a small dramatic role, and he seemed to trust both the idea of it and Rapp, and they had a good rapport. Rapp added that Ferrell was one of the sweetest people he's ever met.

For Zooey Deschanel, Rapp had met with about 45 actresses, but felt that she had the kind of dynamics he was looking for, that she had an incredible intelligence, was very good with language, and at the same time had an incredible emotional life. Rapp also loved her work in David Gordon Green's film, All the Real Girls.

Rapp said that without the participation of Harris and Ferrell, they wouldn't have gotten the financing to make the film.

• Terry Stacey was the cinematographer, and he also did The Door in the Floor and In Her Shoes (which is also showing here at the festival). He was Rapp's mentor a lot early in the process when Rapp didn't know that much about film or its technical execution.

They sat together for about two months, talking about what films they liked and how they wanted it to look and move. Both are huge fans of 70's films like those by Bob Rafelson and Hal Ashby, and they talked about that, and how the camera would move, how it would become stiller as Reese became more still in her life.

Rapp said that Stacey works with a lot of first-time directors, so he felt really lucky, and that Stacey is one of the funniest people he's ever worked with, and the he wears a funny hat a lot.

• When asked if he considers the music in the film the landscape of Resee's psychology, Rapp said very much so, that the musical selections were very important (Rapp is also a musician). He felt the music carries the mood of the picture and Resee's inner life. Both Rapp and Meg Reticker, the editor, spent a lot of time listening to and experimenting with music. They worked to find a lot of female voices, like Cat Power and Dawn Landes, women around the same age as Reese, singing about things similar to what the character was going through in the movie.

• Asked about the scene where Harris and Ferrell are playing golf in a room in the house, Rapp said that he needed some way for Harris' character to destroy the room and turn it into something else, because the room was where he and his wife slept, and made love, and had their life. Rapp thought golf would be a theatrical sounding thing (the sound of the balls and showing the walls crumbling). It also establishes that Harris' character has an agoraphobic bent; he puts the furniture on the lawn and the house is turning into other things through the grief that is going on.

Unfortunately very pedestrian

[ritera1 · 7/10 · 17 September 2022]

Obnoxious 20-something aspiring actress Deschenal gets offer to sell her famous dead mother's love letters to her famous author father.

Likable and all but wandered quite a bit on her coming back home and experiences the subtle but quirky norms that take her by surprise. Will Ferrell in a supporting role was fun. Then the movie slowly starts to focus on the family conflict and history.

A couple plot points are brought up but then largely ignored throughout. She hits her hand for some reason, early on, but then it's ignored 'til near the end. She's established as a coke head early on but then it's ignored throughout.

Dreary and dull

[mickey dripping · 2/10 · 14 January 2011]

Oh gosh. How boring; how slow. This film has too many characters, hence the plot is hard to fathom. I sat waiting for something to happen. Anything to lift the pace above the turgid dirge which surrounded everything.. No suspense. No mystery. No laughter. No joy.

I must take issue with those reviewers who praised Zoey Deschanel and her acting abilities. I disagree that she performed well. This lady cannot act. She delivers lines as if she is reading them. Her tone is a monotonous drawl. Her timing is awful. She consistently speaks as soon as the other actor finishes. The idea that she can come up with such pithy and witty comments without pausing to reflect on the statements made by others is not credible. And what a terrible whiny accent she has. She could learn a lot from the other lead female actor, Amelia Warner, who puts feeling, sincerity and intelligence into the role of Shelley.

I watched it till the end but it totally failed to hold my attention or win my interest.

Loneliness knows me by name

[jpschapira · 8/10 · 30 August 2007]

"Winter Passing" is a lot of things besides being a very good movie. I don't want to miss the chance to say that it could have been a lot better, but it is what it is and what it is, is what we get. In this way, what we get is a very introspective portrait of sad and lonely people; I know it doesn't sound right but that's all I'm going to say about the film.

The thing is that when you love cinema, you watch films even if you don't know what they are about and you understand the nature of each movie; "Winter Passing's" nature is loneliness, not just its characters' but the sceneries' it's set in. In fact, it's one of the most contemplative and observing films I've seen this year.

No wonder the cinematography is by Terry Stacey from "The Door in the Floor"; it makes you watch…He uses a lot of darkness and creates a mood so depressing that sometimes you can't figure out what's going on. But it is a good trick, because when the sun comes out (and you've been expecting it); Stacey's images look beautiful.

Adam Rapp, the man who directed and wrote the film, has a good narrative eye and we sense it constantly during the film, but he also has a talent for directing actors; and there's also credit to the casting directors for this: the most unusual small ensemble. A weird and special actress (Zooey Deschanel), a comedian (Will Ferrell), a character actor (Ed Harris), and a rising English young star (Amelia Warren)…They all work perfectly together, because each of them understands the fragile situation of their character and the rest.

By the way, Harris is working really hard these days and has a lot of films we still haven't seen. And about Ferrell, I wanted to say this after watching "Blades of Glory", a regular and overrated film I didn't write about in which the comedian was the best element...Whether he does comedy or drama, his hair is long or short, black or brown; Ferrell always constructs his characters from zero. He picks little things and starts repeating them throughout a movie, to prove he is completely in character. You should pay close attention to his work in any film.

Rapp crafted a solid screenplay that's maybe a bit over sentimentalist, but he intelligently clarifies it in a crucial part of the movie. However, for a story so humane and real, he could have been harsher; because his elegant narration and images ask for it. However, in his piece, and like in the best dramas, things are said better by means of the images and not of the words; and that's always appreciated.

Also, if anything, "Winter Passing" is living proof that Zooey Deschanel is a fantastic actress; that when she wants she can leave eccentricity and also do great things (because she does great things when she's eccentric); that she can carry a whole movie by herself and that it should happen more often. But probably it won't, because she's one of the most down-to-earth people in the business, and she only works when it's worth it…Too bad.

Winter Passing

[mr_popcorn · 6/10 · 12 September 2008]

Reese Holden: "I just can't believe this is the same man who told his six-year-old daughter that Christmas was a Republican capitalistic conspiracy created by the Hallmark Corporation and that, if Jesus were alive today he'd be down in Nicaragua rallying the Sandinistas. Grace Away." 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.

The first thing you'll notice in this film is Zooey Deschanel's acting. I know I did, she is just a stunning character actress and only a few people know of her stellar performance here. If only this film was marketed more in the veins of mainstream Hollywood then Zooey might just get the applaud and praise of the movie-going audience. While the script might not pique the interest of some people, and I admit, I am one of them, I gotta say this film worked because of the actors.

This is a character driven story and each of the four main characters really got the job done. Its not Zooey Deschanel portraying Reese Holdin, its Reese Holdin as portrayed by Zooey Deschanel. The same goes to Will Ferrell, who yet again strays from his comedic roots and takes on another fine performance as hopeful musician Corbett. He nailed it in Stranger than Fiction and he nailed it again here. Ed Harris who plays Reese's dad, a down and out writer Don Holdin sporting the old man hermit hairstyle. A mighty fine performance from one of the most celebrated actors out there. Then there's Amelia Warner. Can't say I haven't heard of her name before but she sure was impressive here.

Winter Passing is one of those dark and moody films about a dysfunctional family so the vibe is really not that jolly when you're watching it. So I guess its up to you if you wanna watch it.

Not entirely "ho hum," but pretty darn close.

[sijoe22 · 3/10 · 19 March 2017]

Starts off dull, and ends that way, too. In between, not a heckuva lot happens either.

Girl has been estranged from her writer father for years, and sees a chance to make money off him, pays him an awkward visit, which last 2/3 of movie, and then, well, like I said, not much happens.

Actually, movie had some funny parts, NEITHER involving the main characters, but involved her father's living arrangements. Now THAT was rather humorous, I found.

Lead character girl, while not a sleazebag, was very unlikable, and not the type of person you'd root for, nor even care if her part ended twenty minutes after movie started.

Waste of time, and would NEVER see it again.