THE WINTER GUEST 1997
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1998 Timothy Voon
5 unhappy :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( for a cranky old lady
Cast: Phylida Law, Emma Thompson, Gary Hollywood, Arlene Cockburn, SheilaReid, Sandra Voe, Douglas Murphy, Sean Biggerstaff Director: Alan Rickman Screenplay: Sharman Macdonald and Alan Rickman
I cannot adequately express how disappointed I feel after watching THE WINTER GUEST. I had expected great things from Alan Rickman in this his debut as a director. Let's face it, he's a better actor. Secondly, whatever persuaded Emma Thompson, an Academy Award Winner for best screen adaptation, to except a very poor adaptation of stage play to screen play carrying the same name???
Yes I hated, I greatly detested, THE WINTER GUEST from the instant that Phyllida Law opened her mouth. Perhaps, her character is meant to be that of a nagging old bit'hmm, but to the extent that it cat whips the viewer's nerves raw? Several people walked out early when they saw where this movie was heading. I should have done the same and got my money back, but unfortunately I don't do it on principle. One kept expecting the old crone to drop dead, with the fake Parkisonian tremor an all, but no she has to live right to the end and say ‘My name is Elspeth', like it's something profound and the audience is meant to understand what she means by it. I couldn't, so I put it down to early onset dementia. She could have done the audience a favour and walked out onto the frozen sea and never returned.
Other annoying factors is how stagey the entire movie feels, even though most of the sets are outdoors. There is also a problem with the script sounding artificial, ‘Shakespearan' without the heart of the great poet. The actors speak, but most of the time what they rant about is inconsequential, empty and even baffling. There's almost never more than two people in a scene, it's like no one lives in this town except for eight people split into pairs. Other problems concern two boys who find condoms and kittens on the beach, before deciding to rub deep heat on their dicks. Every second word spoken is a swear word, and they're only ten! You may expect it from PULP FICTION, but not from kids! Then there are two young people experimenting with their bodies, wanting to have sex but don't because there's a feeling the dead boy's father is in the room. Before we meet two old ladies, one screaming ‘I'm going to fall, I'm going to fall.' No doubt she is having a panic attack, but hey she's on a bus there is no where to fall! Finally, Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson, mother and daughter, I just hope there relationship in real life is not as awful as it is on screen. There is enough nagging in this movie to make one grow old in their seat.
This was an awful script and an awful movie with little resolution of the presenting problems, leaving the viewer (myself) very angry and dissatisfied.
Timothy Voon e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au Movie Archives http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Tim+Voon Hugues Bouclier's Movies in Melbourne http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~bouclier/week/movies.html
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