Review of Winter's Tale (2014) by Reel And U — 08 Mar 2014

Her Review:

Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) arrived on a ship. Or so he was told. Orphaned as a baby Peter has grown up a bit on the wild side. Thief and master-mechanic he has recently defied the big boss in town who just happens to be one evil guy with ties to the dark side. As Peter attempts to skip town he goes to pull one last job in an upper west side home. Instead of an empty home he finds Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay). Beverly is special because she is dying of consumption and doesn't get to see much of the world. Peter and Beverly are instantly drawn together their destinies intertwined. Can their love be the miracle that saves her? Or will she be the one to save him? Starring Russell Crowe, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly, Ripley Sobo, Matt Bomer, Lucy Griffiths, Michael Patrick Cane, Brian Hutchison, Kevin Corrigan, Alan Doyle, Jon Patrick Walker, Maurice Jones, Mckayla Twiggs, Will Smith, Eva Marie Saint.

Winter's Tale is one of those films that requires suspended disbelief and an open heart to understand; and even then you might have a hard time truly falling in love with it. I personally had high hopes for this film. Amid the other Valentine's Day release this one seemed to have the most promise. It's hard to describe but I wasn't so much disappointed as I was confused at the end of the film.

There are some easy things to understand about Winter's Tale and some things that just don't make sense. The first hour of the film, the epic love story between Peter and Beverly makes sense. The other part, where Russell Crowe is some demon/human trying to stop miracles and make the world miserable doesn't make sense. It comes out of left field kind of - starting with the horse that can fly. I am sure in the book it was all very magical and beautiful but on film it was more of a mess. The lumbering and clumsy mix up of a story is what left me feeling confused.

The upside features decent performances by Farrell, Crowe and Findlay. Crowe makes one heck of a bad guy. He is creepy and dark just like you would expect him to be. Farrell and Findlay have a nice chemistry that amps up the romance level. Despite this however not even they can trump the inconsistent story they are living out. Oh and the appearance of Will Smith as the judge a.k.a. Lucifer is laughable but Smith holds his own.

Don't get me wrong when it comes to this film. I cried at the appropriate times and enjoyed bits and pieces of it all because I have a heart after all and it just couldn't resist. My logical side however couldn't fathom the plot when it was pieced together in such a haphazard fashion leaving out crucial details and including whole scenes of nonsense. Men will hate this movie and about fifty percent of women will like it. Sadly however I don't think there will be many to love it and it will get lost in time like so many before it.

6/10 Stars - I hoped to be swept off my feet but was instead left feeling lonely and confused.