The Winter Guest

R

Released Dec 24, 1997

1h 46m

Drama

List

63%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

75%

Audience Score

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).

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 4/4

Apr 25, 2003

Full Review

Stanley Kauffmann

The New Republic

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.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

A dull, plodding exercise directed by actor Alan Rickman.

Rated: C

Jan 19, 2023

Full Review

Prairie Miller

WBAI Web Radio

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.

Oct 5, 2007

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 2.5/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

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e. r

If you enjoy immersive, slow films this is a gem. Filmed on location, it uses, not odd camera angles nor fake mood lighting to evoke emotion, but the greys & starkness of deep winter. The tension in the movie comes as much from capturing the feel of the landscape as from the plot/acting. I have watched this over & over. One of those rare movies that I find makes me feel slightly uneasy, yet comforted somehow. If you have never experienced deep winter in a small town, this is it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/26/23

Full Review

Nancy G

This is my favourite film of all times. I love the scenery, the storyline, the deeper layers of the film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

?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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Rickman's directorial debut is technically sound but the plot drags despite the best efforts of Emma Thompson and Phyllida Law.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

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Alan Rickman

Director

Phyllida Law

Elspeth

Emma Thompson

Frances

Gary Hollywood

Alex

Arlene Cockburn

Nita

Sheila Reid

Lily

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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