Greetings,
The world of independent film is a fascinating one. I don't know of any other genre that is such a crap shoot for whether or not you are going to get something decent. There are many people, myself included, who believe that this is the place where one can go to find hidden gems. Still, sometimes we forget that a lot of not so great stuff comes out of it as well. And what of those indie films that fall somewhere in between, where you watch it and think you should be liking it more than you do? That's kind of how I feel about today's movie, Winter Passing.
Winter Passing is a 2005 film starring Zooey Deschanel as Reese Holdin, a young woman who splits her work time between bartending and acting in, where else, New York. She suffers from depression and tries to deal with it through drugs and self-harm. One night, she is approached by a publishing agent, played by Amy Madigan, who is interested in a series of letters that were exchanged between Reese's parents. Her father, Don, played by Ed Harris, is a once-famous writer and her mother passed away nor long ago. Reluctantly, Reese heads off to Michigan to try to locate them, but she finds her father not doing well and living with a musician, Corbit, played by Will Ferrell, and Shelly, a former student of Don's, played by Amelia Warner. Reese just wants to find the letters and leave, but she gets sucked in to everything that is happening in her father's life and house, and many things are revealed to her that she may not have wanted to know but needed to know.
I would call this another of those character heavy films, though there is a steady narrative to it. But watching these characters learn about each other is what pushes that narrative forward. I think that, for the most part, they are interesting enough to keep you engaged, and I do like a story where the players are finding things out about each other right along with the audience. In addition to that, all the while, there is the mystery of these letters. Will they be found, what is in them, and will it have an effect on the strained father/daughter relationship? And on a personal note, I am someone who is infatuated with handwritten letters, so, naturally, this aspect of the story tugged and my heart.
So, since I find this very character driven, I should talk about the actors portraying them. The performances here range from brilliant to passable. The brilliance, of course, comes from Ed Harris, who is pretty much always great. And this was a heavy role to play, difficult even, but probably not for him. Don is a heartbreaking character, being this once amazing writer who is just struggling to live, and he goes for the emotion hardcore on this one. Will Ferrell and Amelia Warner handle their roles very well, the former with some familiarity, as Ferrell, in these kinds of films, always tends to replace the energy he usually puts into straight forward comedy with injecting a lot of heart into his performance. Sadly, the weak link in the movie is Zooey Deschanel. I personally think that dramatic acting is not her strong suit, and her style of acting is a better fit for comedy. Yes, she has been in good dramatic movies, but usually as a supporter, not the lead. She's not terrible, by any means. In fact, there are moments when she can be effective. But, overall, I just don't think I buy her performance as much in this role, and when it IS the lead, that can weigh everything down a bit.
In closing, I would say I give Winter Passing a soft recommendation. If anything, it's worth seeing just for Ed Harris, so, in that regard, it won't be disappointing. But if the story doesn't interest you, I wouldn't say it's something you need to see right now. Still, if you are ever at home channel surfing and it pops up, I say give it a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
