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WINTER PASSING Send This Review to a Friend
Adam Rapp, the playwright, has written and directed his first film, “Winter Passing,” which doesn’t pass fast enough. The story is a bore, and the leading character, young, drug-addicted Reese, played by Zooey Deschanel, is hardly interesting or sympathetic enough to carry the main thrust of the film.
Reese, who is a struggling actress, is the estranged daughter of a famous novelist, Don Holdin, who has become reclusive but is still the object of literary curiosity. Reese is approached by a publisher, played by Amy Madigan, with a lucrative offer for correspondence between her father and her mother, who committed suicide—letters that are reported to exist. Reese returns to the rural Michigan home with the intention of finding the letters.
She discovers the state of her burned out, alcoholic father, played by Ed Harris made up to look as slovenly as possible. Living with him is Corbit (Will Ferrell), who is somewhat of protector who chases unwanted visitors away, and young Shelly (Amelia Warner), who is a fan and Don’s housekeeper, as well as having an emotional attachment to him that makes Reese jealous and resentful.
The emotional gut of the tale involves a tearful father-daughter re-connection, and thanks to Harris’ acting, there is a touching moment. But it takes ever so long to creep to that point, and by then the film and Reese have long worn out their welcome. A Yari Film Group release.
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