lewiskendell Ah, another tale of a lost, disaffected young person that fruitlessly tries to fill their empty life with empty sex and drugs, and the family dynamics that led them to become that way. You know how these stories go. By the end, there's always some kind of acceptance and catharsis, and the characters end up with better relationships than when they started. Since most family dramas begin and end in somewhat the same manner, it's that middle journey that makes or breaks them, for me. How and why do the characters change?Winter Passing largely skips right over the how and why. For 90% of the movie Zooey Deschanel's and Ed Harris's characters are one way, and then in the last ten minutes they are suddenly completely different. I was so confused that I went back to check and see if I had unknowingly missed some crucial plot points or character development, but I hadn't. The viewer is actually expected to believe that these characters undergo profound and drastic changes as a result of about two brief conversations and a hospital visit. It's like they took a vague idea of a plot, and then filled in the runtime with melancholy gazing out of windows and lots of slow cigarette smoking. As for the other two main characters, they never really contributed anything of substance to the story. I suppose Amelia Warner's character was included to provide some initial friction for Reese and offer her another insight into her father's personality, and she looked so beautiful doing it that I'm willing to cut her some slack. But Will Ferrell's character was completely unnecessary. All he did was add forced quirkiness to a movie that absolutely did not need it. It didn't even fit the tone, and his sub-plot was a pointless way to pad out the running time.I didn't hate Winter Passing, I just thought that its story needed a lot more thought, focus, and fleshing out. It feels incomplete. Family drama is among the most character driven genres, and they just don't work well without strong and well-defined character arcs.

futures-1 "Winter Passing" (2005): This is a quiet, subtle film full of interesting people and complex emotions buried within private lives. Slowly the story weaves together, as the main characters find themselves connecting to others. Starring Ed Harris (great), Zoeey Dechanel (a growing favorite of mine), Will Ferrell (in an understated, odd role), Amelia Warner (as the "glue" of the group), and Amy Madigan (as the "catalyst"). This is my first viewing. Upon further viewings, it could end up in my top category. "Winter Passing" belongs somewhere in a grouping that would also include "Avalon" and "Unstrung Heroes". It is gentle, sad, quiet, painful, quirky, almost funny for split seconds, mysterious, loving, fragile, and forgiving.

mrocco-1 ******THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS RIGHT FROM THE START******* If it wasn't for this one thing, I would have given this movie an 8 or so. It was a great movie that gave us an interesting character study of what it means to finally forgive your parents for being human, flaws and all. Some people have bigger challenges then others and this one probably falls somewhere in the middle. Our heroine, Reese, (played by Zooey Deschanal) is an angst ridden only child raised by angst ridden artistic parents. We are led to the conclusion that her parents were more concerned with their writing careers and each other than with her. From this she has become a lonely and scared young woman who cannot let herself feel. This is why she does things like slam her hand in dresser drawers so that she can make herself feel (and cry).First off, as kooky as her upbring must have been it wasn't that bad compared to people who suffer physical and sexual abuse and all of those other HORRORS that many people endure. I realize that not all people react the same way to difficult family dynamics and that Reese is young and hasn't yet gone through the phase where you realize your parents were flawed human beings who did the best that they could. Nonetheless, does that excuse her being a psychopathic animal killer? Aren't any of the other reviewers as appalled as I am that she would choose to drown her cat, while it is locked in a gym bag, instead of having the vet put it to sleep? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? She let this adorable kitty who she is supposed to care about suffer the terror it must have felt while the bag slowly filled up with cold water and drowned it? HELLO??? No vet in the world would not put the animal to sleep if the owner cannot afford treatment (the kitty had leukemia). I don't see how this behavior (behavior that is often a precursor to becoming a serial killer) can possibly be excused because poor abused Reese was ignored by two temperamental artistic parents. I know the point was she was doing things to try and 'feel something' but to do this to a helpless animal is beyond what I could grasp as reasonable behavior by a person who can possibly 'come back to life' or be 'saved'. A little understanding on her part and getting some of the love from her father that she craved growing up fixes the problem that makes a person kill an animal? I wished she had OD'd on crack and died at the end. Then I would have given the movie a higher rating.

mschorr-1 The film does have a plot, but it is pretty much irrelevant. In short, a young actress (Zooey Deschanel), daughter of two tortured but successful authors, returns to her Michigan home some months after her mother's suicide in search of love letters written by her parents during her courtship and willed to her by her mother, with an eye to selling them for publication. Upon arrival, she discovers her father (Ed Harris), deep in alcoholic despondency, living in the garage while his house is occupied by two young people. One is Corbit (Will Ferrell)(yes, you read that right), a dysfunctional former Christian rocker who serves as something of a bodyguard for Harris. The other is Shelly (Amelia Warner), a former student of Harris' who lives in the house and helps care for him.The characters are subtle, many faceted, beautifully written and exquisitely played. The arc of the film is one of growing understanding and tolerance and the onion of their pain is gracefully peeled.The surprise in this film is Ferrell. He gives a quiet, controlled, thoroughly honest performance. As we have come to expect from him in his madcap comedies, he commits fully to this character and not a moment rings false.This gentle film is more than worth an investment of 98 minutes.