In the past three years, there's been an increase in indie movies with main characters that need to "find themselves" - see "Garden State" and "Lost in Translation." In "Winter Passing," writer-director Adam Rapp puts on his own spin, basing the movie around family love rather than oddball or quirky love. The result is so honest and poignant one would have to be heartless to not find this movie pleasing to the soul.
Ironically enough, the movie starts off depressing and somewhat disturbing with a full view of struggling New York actress Reese Holdin's life, complete with masochism, coke binges and promiscuous sex. Holdin is played by current it-girl Zooey Deschanel, who has gained notoriety for her honest portrayal of characters in indie films like "The Good Girl" and "All the Real Girls." When Reese is offered a generous amount of money from a publisher to recover her famous deceased mother's love letters to her father, she sets out on a journey back home to confront her estranged father and to find the letters she so desperately needs. Deschanel's Reese comes through in her facial expressions and mannerisms. When looking at her on the screen, one cannot help but fixate on her big blue eyes and the sadness they hide in the film's beginning.
Ed Harris plays Reese's father, the also-famous Don Holdin. As Don, a writer who has been damaged by the loss of his soulmate and damaged by the terrible realities of the world, Harris almost looks unrecognizable. Stringy hair, a bushy beard and odd qualities make him resemble a cracked-out Viggo Mortensen. The father-daughter interaction is key in the film, showing the presence of love in even the most estranged of relationships.
Despite recent hideously unfunny performances in "Bewitched" and "Kicking and Screaming," Will Ferrell proves that he is still one of the funniest men in Hollywood in "Winter Passing" with his cute portrayal of eccentric housemate Corbit, a former Christian rocker struggling to get his music career off the ground. Although the film is a drama, Ferrell provides laugh-out-loud moments. In a movie wrought with inner turmoil and depression, Ferrell's role adds a much-needed smile to the faces of viewers when the movie gets a little downtrodden.
Young British actress Amelia Warner plays Shelley, another housemate and former student who comes across as sincere and serious. The dialogue between her and Deschanel is quite comical, mimicking sibling rivalry even though the pair aren't sisters. Throughout the film, Shelley provides clues to what Reese is truly looking for and in doing so is able to provide a good sense of introspection and thought to a movie already draped in emotion.
The only downsides of the film are its soundtrack and length. The music throughout is unbelievable. While songs in films like "Garden State" were believable, they worked because they fit in with the scenes. In "Winter Passing," Deschanel actually performs some of the songs used in the movie, and surprisingly, it is these songs that fit in perfectly with the scenes. Otherwise, the obligatory indie song is thrown in for no other reason than to enhance the film's cool, hip and indie factors. It's also hard to believe that a dive bar in Middle of Nowhere, Mich., would be playing Low and My Morning Jacket while its patrons chug beer and play pool.
Furthermore, the film is 98 minutes long, which leaves the viewer wishing the filmmakers could have squeezed out maybe another 10 minutes. The movie grows on you, and by the time it's over one wishes that it didn't have to end so abruptly.
What makes this movie so different from its pretentious contemporaries is that each character has unique qualities that seem honest and don't come off as forced. The movie is distinguishable because although it centers on family love and values, it does so in a non-traditional way. By the end of the movie, you'd be hardpressed to find a dry eye in the house. The film leaves one walking away with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, that will no doubt have everyone on their cell phones right away, calling their parents just to say, "I love you"
