Winter Passing (2006)
Amelia Warner, Amy Madigan, Anthony Rapp
A dramatic comedy that charts the fractious reunion of an estranged father and daughter. Struggling twentysomething actress Reese Holden has been promised $100,000 by book editor Lori Lansky if Reese can secure for publication, love letters written by her legendary, but reclusive father Don, to his ... (read more) A dramatic comedy that charts the fractious reunion of an estranged father and daughter. Struggling twentysomething actress Reese Holden has been promised $100,000 by book editor Lori Lansky if Reese can secure for publication, love letters written by her legendary, but reclusive father Don, to his equally revered late wife--Reese's mother. Suddenly highly motivated, Reese treks from New York City to Michigan, where she finds Don in flagrant disregard of his own health and living with two younger housemates: practical former grad student Shelly and would-be musician Corbit. Reese, though no angel herself, does not approve of this ad hoc family. But she comes to appreciate her unlikely new "siblings," and as secrets are revealed, comes to terms with her father and their shared past and future.
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R, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed by:
Adam Rapp
Release Date: Feb 17, 2006
DVD Release Date: May 16, 2006
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Flixster User Reviews
For anyone who's experienced what it's like to have strained family relationships, this movie hits home. Beautifully filmed, raw emotions, fantastic performances.
I was surprised about this movie. It has a good storyline and I loved the normal yet quirky characters. I do wish we could have stayed away from Zooey Deshnells character in New York but rather more on her friendships with the people in the house inc... (read more) I was surprised about this movie. It has a good storyline and I loved the normal yet quirky characters. I do wish we could have stayed away from Zooey Deshnells character in New York but rather more on her friendships with the people in the house including her father. And by the way, Zooey is really starting to get on my nerves with this one note annoying, dull, monotone, possessed cupie doll looking characters she always plays. Could we have found a better actress?! But on the other hand Will Ferrell is surprisingly very funny but in a sweet and sensitive sort of way. He proves that he could do some serious acting if he wanted to and be good at it.
Beautiful performances from everyone. I didn't think that Will Ferrel could pull of a dramatic performance, but the scene where Zooey Deschanel comes onto him is perfect. The cinematography was amazing. The soundtrack blew me away. Everything abo... (read more) Beautiful performances from everyone. I didn't think that Will Ferrel could pull of a dramatic performance, but the scene where Zooey Deschanel comes onto him is perfect. The cinematography was amazing. The soundtrack blew me away. Everything about this movie is great, aside from some of the random scenes such as Reese going to the local bar, which turned out to be an obvious plot point for Corbit. Zooey Deschanel brings her character to life. We feel the pain of trying to find attention from everyone, but it's never fulfilled because all she wants is the attention of her dad. Yes, it sounds cheezy, but it's fleshed out in original ways. If you refuse to really pay attention to the film, you will miss a lot. I can see why people would see this as a typical indie film, but there's so much that the filmmakers are trying to say that it's easy to glance at the surface and not look into the heart of the film.
Sigh. I wanted this movie to be great. It had such potential to be a smart dark comedy. The script was good. Zooey Deschanel really rocked this role, and Ed Harris was amazing. But as usual, Will Ferrell hammed it up. Which is normally great, but TOT... (read more) Sigh. I wanted this movie to be great. It had such potential to be a smart dark comedy. The script was good. Zooey Deschanel really rocked this role, and Ed Harris was amazing. But as usual, Will Ferrell hammed it up. Which is normally great, but TOTALLY didn't fit in this film at all. They really needed to cast someone else. And thus, the film dragged in places. If you're a huge Zooey fan, I'd suggest renting it, but don't spend more than like 2 bucks.
It wasn't until after it arrived from Netflix that I saw it got 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. I decided to watch it anyway while cleaning my room and it was not great. It tried too hard at being an indie-drama and it shows. The acting seemed lacking from W... (read more) It wasn't until after it arrived from Netflix that I saw it got 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. I decided to watch it anyway while cleaning my room and it was not great. It tried too hard at being an indie-drama and it shows. The acting seemed lacking from Will Ferrell and Zooey Deschanel at times which I wasn't expecting. It could have been the writing though.
A beautiful, dark coming of age story following the growth and development of the family unit. Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell are stunning in their respective roles.
I didn't even know this movie existed until I found it on the movie rental shelf. Apparently when you pick something out of the drama section, it's going to be dramatic. Who would have thought? This one has it all: drug addicts, emotional starvati... (read more) I didn't even know this movie existed until I found it on the movie rental shelf. Apparently when you pick something out of the drama section, it's going to be dramatic. Who would have thought? This one has it all: drug addicts, emotional starvation and dysfunctional families. I love Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell, but this is no Elf my friends. However, it was worth watching just to hear the name of Corbit's (Will Ferrell) former Christian rock band: Punching Pilate. Genius, and hilarious.
Over all I liked the plot and Character zooey Deschanel Played, except she fell flat for me on two scenes when I felt she needed alot of emotion, and I was left staring at the screen going "what come on give me more your father is dieing". In a sense... (read more) Over all I liked the plot and Character zooey Deschanel Played, except she fell flat for me on two scenes when I felt she needed alot of emotion, and I was left staring at the screen going "what come on give me more your father is dieing". In a sense this could work seeing as i guess she's numb from her life or whatever, but i still was a bit bothered. other then that I rather enjoyed the film.
beim erstn mal schaun..hab ich eig nichts mitbekommen hat aber eig nix mitn film zu tun haha :D aber der film hat irgendwie was! mog i!!! ;)
Good movie about coming home again. A little slow in some areas, but good performances from Zooey Deschanel and Ed Harris keep the plot moving. Will Ferrell provides a strong, subtle performance in a supporting role. It's a little dark and dysfunctio... (read more) Good movie about coming home again. A little slow in some areas, but good performances from Zooey Deschanel and Ed Harris keep the plot moving. Will Ferrell provides a strong, subtle performance in a supporting role. It's a little dark and dysfunctional, but worth a rent.
I didn't think I would really like this movie but by the end it had me hooked in.
Winter Passing is rather bland. This is because of the main character. Zooey Deschanel, as beautiful as she is, is as mediocre as they come. Her character is shrouded with indie archetypes. She's a young bitter whore with a drug habit. The character ... (read more) Winter Passing is rather bland. This is because of the main character. Zooey Deschanel, as beautiful as she is, is as mediocre as they come. Her character is shrouded with indie archetypes. She's a young bitter whore with a drug habit. The character nor her portrayal is very interesting or fresh. Once more interesting meat puppets are introduced, the film picks up momentum.
Farrell as an oddball shy rock-star wannabe, a depressed British pixie girl, and Ed Harris as JD Salinger with another name all have their moments of humor and heart. Unfortunetly, this is the cunt girl's tale, and they all get lost in the shuffle. She goes on the typical coming-of-age route, killing kittens and whatnot. But the plot is thin, the film just lifelessly plods along on cliches, and every decent character comes and goes with little rhyme or reason.
Winter's PASSing indeed.
Critic Reviews
There are intriguing actors and ideas here, but only occasionally do they combine with convincing force.full review
This is the kind of movie routinely dismissed as too slow and quiet by those who don't know it is more exciting to listen than to hear.full review
Makes too many of the same rookie filmmaker mistakes which keep similar films with smaller budgets and lesser known casts from even getting a minor theatrical releasefull review
The film delivers nothing more than a familiar Sundance-style brand of stagy, small-scale drama.full review
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