Review of Winter Passing (2006) by Justin M — 21 Dec 2006

A good little movie that plays a bit like an 'indie' prototype. Reese Holdin (Zooey Deschanel) comes home to her estranged father Don (Ed Harris) after a publisher offers her $100,000 to print a series of love-letters written by her mother and father, both famed novelists. Pulling up to the house, she's met by Corbet (Will Ferrell), a middle-aged guitar player who's looking after the house now that Don's moved his things out to the garage. Falling apart under the weight of his wife's suicide, it's a small but involving role that Harris plays quite well. He gets top billing in the cast, but the movie really belongs to Deschanel, whose Reese is literally in every scene. The movie follows her journey as she struggles to reconnect with a father she barely knew, and must decide whether or not to exploit him for a big pay-day.

That's about it. The overall theme or meaning of the movie is mostly lost on me, but I definitely enjoyed watching it. It's well-acted, and Ferrell is great in a rather subdued role that's touching and funny without ever being loud. There are a few great dramatic scenes in the movie (Reese's final scene with her sick cat is a heart-breaker and Deschanel plays it well), but things get a bit rushed in the final act, as Rapp pushes the movie towards the finish line, dodging a bit of slow set-up stuff that made the opening work so well.

Does this movie demand viewing? No, not really. But I'm glad I saw it.