Blu-ray Review: Winter Passing

MVD Visual’s Marquee Collection consists of Blu-ray editions of some older films that are worth taking another look at, as well as some titles you might have missed the first time around. The latter is the case for me with Winter Passing, an absolutely wonderful and moving film starring Ed Harris, Zooey Deschanel, Will Ferrell and Amelia Warner. This film tells the story of a young woman who returns home for the first time in several years to retrieve correspondence written by her famous parents during their courtship, and discovers a strange new dynamic in the house in which she grew up.

When we meet Reese (Zooey Deschanel), she is at an audition in New York. She is asked to sing, which she wasn’t prepared for, and is adorable as she delivers her rendition of “My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean.” She did well enough to get cast, for the film then cuts to a scene from a production of Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale. Interestingly, what we see is Leontes approaching the “statue” of Hermione, and we don’t catch any of Reese’s dialogue at all, but rather just see her approach on stage. This positions her as something of an outsider in her own life, for though she is cast in the play, the film chooses to show us another actor’s performance instead of hers. (My guess is she’s playing Perdita, whose next line would be “So long could I stand by, a looker on.”)  After the performance, Lori (Amy Madigan), a book editor, approaches her. It is only a moment before Reese realizes her presence has nothing whatsoever to do with her performance, but rather to do with her father, a famous author who has not published a word in many years. Lori is there because Reese inherited the courtship correspondence between her parents and she wishes to purchase it from her and publish it. This is an excellent scene. We learn quite a lot, such as the fact that Reese missed her mother’s funeral, but none of the information feels like exposition. Plus, both Zooey Deschanel and Amy Madigan deliver excellent, natural performances.

Reese is clearly troubled, hurting. In an early and powerful scene, done with very little dialogue, she tells a lover to leave, then deliberately slams her hand in a drawer. Soon another lover asks her, “What are you so afraid of?” She answers, “I don’t know.” It is an honest answer. I love that this film takes its time, letting us get to know Reese and care for her before introducing the other main characters. And if Reese is troubled, things are even stranger and more difficult for her father (Ed Harris). Following his wife’s death, he has taken to living in his garage and sleeping outside, while two boarders live in his house. They are quite protective of him, with one of them, Corbit (Will Ferrell), asking to see some form of identification from Reese before letting her in. When Reese does finally get inside the house, we see that it is full of books, which makes it look like heaven to me. However, one room has been turned into a driving range. Reese has been made an outsider in her own home, though both Corbit and Shelly (Amelia Warner) do their best to make her feel welcome. And soon Reese begins to put her life back together by repairing her relationship with her father. This is a moving, touching and rather tender story, and it had me in tears before the end, something I was not expecting. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend checking it out.

Special Features

The Blu-ray contains a short behind-the-scenes featurette, which includes interviews with cast members Zooey Deschanel, Amy Madigan, Will Ferrell, Ed Harris and Amelia Warner. The film’s trailer is also included.

Winter Passing was written and directed by Adam Rapp, and was released on Blu-ray on June 25, 2019 through MVD Marquee Collection.