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The Winter Guest

Play trailer Poster for The Winter Guest R 1997 1h 46m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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63% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
It's winter in a small Scottish village near the sea, and multiple lives intersect in a day. Frances (Emma Thompson) has just lost her husband to an early death, so her mother, Elspeth (Phyllida Law), travels to Frances' house to reconnect with her daughter and grandson, Alex (Gary Hollywood). Meanwhile, old women Chloe (Sandra Voe) and Lily (Sheila Reid) go to a funeral, youngsters Sam (Douglas Murphy) and Tom (Sean Biggerstaff) cut class, and Alex gets a crush on tomboy Nita (Arlene Cockburn).

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
2.5/4
[Rickman] has great command here of look and tone, and I felt I knew what it would be like to wander the streets of that village in Scotland. But the film left me feeling strangely hollow. Go to Full Review
Stanley Kauffmann The New Republic 01/01/2000
The Winter Guest is a pleasure to watch, if only (but not only) for the chance to see Thompson. She is a continually revealing artist. Go to Full Review
Dan DiNicola The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY) 01/19/2023
C
A dull, plodding exercise directed by actor Alan Rickman. Go to Full Review
Prairie Miller WBAI Web Radio 10/05/2007
Moving as flawlessly and gracefully across the movie screen as the snow on its mute, chilly Scottish landscape, the film inspires amazement and awe as the work of novice director, Alan Rickman. Go to Full Review
Film Threat 12/06/2005
2.5/5
Daniel Eagan Film Journal International 11/28/2005
2/5
Well-made but dreary mother-daughter conflict Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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thiago s @Thiagostone Jun 21 Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom See more nick s 11/28/2024 Well acted and lovely bleak cinamatography. If you're up for a slow moving voyeuristic movie following several people's lives as they navigate life in a small Scottish town then this is the movie for you. If not, it's a snore fest. There was no real tension nor stakes for the characters. I feel this story structure is much more suited to a play. See more Nancy G 03/21/2023 This is my favourite film of all times. I love the scenery, the storyline, the deeper layers of the film. See more 11/03/2020 Alan Rickman's frigid directorial effort is an adaptation of Sharman Macdonald's same-titled play describing a winter day in a Scottish seaside town spent by a quartet of coupled protagonists remunerating bereavement, passion, loss of innocence and death. See more 01/08/2019 if you are looking for a quiet thoughtful compelling film this fits that bill. I watch it every winter for several years. Beautifully written, acted, directed. Cohesive. See more 02/13/2016 ?The Winter Guest Full Movie HD Watch Now http://bit.ly/1VauRF0 Synopsis of The Winter Guest Movie: The plot of the story is interactions between two young boys, two teenagers, a mother, a grandmother, and two elderly women. It can be said though that the main actor in the film is frozen sea, and the rest of the stories are only surreal background to it. See more Read all reviews
The Winter Guest

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Movie Info

Synopsis It's winter in a small Scottish village near the sea, and multiple lives intersect in a day. Frances (Emma Thompson) has just lost her husband to an early death, so her mother, Elspeth (Phyllida Law), travels to Frances' house to reconnect with her daughter and grandson, Alex (Gary Hollywood). Meanwhile, old women Chloe (Sandra Voe) and Lily (Sheila Reid) go to a funeral, youngsters Sam (Douglas Murphy) and Tom (Sean Biggerstaff) cut class, and Alex gets a crush on tomboy Nita (Arlene Cockburn).
Director
Alan Rickman
Producer
Steve Clark-Hall, Ken Lipper, Edward R. Pressman
Screenwriter
Sharman Macdonald, Alan Rickman
Distributor
Fine Line Features
Production Co
Fine Line Features, Channel Four Films, Capitol Films
Rating
R (Language|Brief Sensuality)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 24, 1997, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$849.3K
Runtime
1h 46m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby Digital