“Midwinter Break” is both entirely reliant on the nuances of its two lead performances. Yet it does not feel like an inherently staged work. It’s a quiet and observational film that makes the most of minimal narrative progression to soak up all the emotions. Vacations don’t get bleaker than the one depicted in “Midwinter Break,” as the feat of realism accomplished by first-time feature director Polly Findlay is orchestrated, if not overtly manipulative.
There are certainly instances in which “Midwinter Break” shows too much restraint, forcing the audience to make assumptions about ambiguities within the characterization. That being said, it’s also a far more intriguing way to tell a fairly traditional story. While these types of literary adaptations tend to be saccharine, “Midwinter Break” is, surprisingly enough, closer in style to Roberto Rossellini than it is to Nicholas Sparks.
Based on the novel of the same name, “Midwinter Break” tells the story of Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciaran Hinds), an aging couple who embark on a vacation to Amsterdam after years of inactivity. While both partners are content to openly discuss their Irish heritage, they’ve been split upon how they reflect their cultural legacy.
Stella has questioned whether there is more that she can do to express her faith, whereas Gerry has taken to drinking as a means of coping with deep-seated feelings of emptiness. It’s amidst a journey that should feel like an escape that the marriage begins to feel more like a prison, forcing the characters to question whether it’s time to quit their relationship altogether.
“Midwinter Break” has a story that necessitates some abrupt alterations within the central dynamic, but they don’t feel particularly awkward. The trip itself was plotted by Stella as a means of breathing life back into a marriage in which she feels Gerry has not held up his responsibilities. Rather than using overt context clues within their Amsterdam trip to reference specific instances within their past, the film uses the simmering tension of unspoken anxiety to anticipate where the faults begin to show. The first act of the film is almost entirely observational footage that tracks the feigned happiness within the couple’s routines, and comparisons to the aforementioned Rossellini’s work on “Journey to Italy” wouldn’t be entirely unfounded.
Findlay’s style eventually begins to settle into a pattern of brief passages in which a connection between the two begins to slowly dwindle as a result of missed social cues, awkward exchanges, and vague references to an uncertain past. The anticipation of a moment in which Stella is asked to directly state what exactly has haunted her doesn’t feel like a jarring shroud over the story because it fits into the actual point at which the character would open up.
While there are allusions to some historical context that might complicate the situation, including one unusual reference to political tension in Ireland, there’s an ambiguity to “Midwinter Break” that is befitting of two relatively average characters who, for better or worse, feel as if they have lived many lifetimes.
What prevents “Midwinter Break” from being emotionally devastating is that Findlay codes the poison with a bit too much sugar. The affectionate nature of both characters may be intended to make the friction between them more painful, but it often mollifies the brewing tension. The issue doesn’t seem to stem from a lack of empathy, but that neither seems willing to take the necessary steps forward.
Gerry ignores any warning signs that his alcoholism has become an issue, but he’s also not sure how to soothe his wife’s feelings of discontent, especially in a film where terms like “mental health” and “depression” aren’t uttered. It’s not hard to root for the couple, but the warmth of the actors’ chemistry is so endearing that the more drastic fissures feel unprecedented.
“Midwinter Break” is also achingly slow, which isn’t necessarily an issue outside of the instances of complete humorlessness. Although there’s value in showing the masks that both characters wear in order to hide any signs of distress, there is some trepidation on Findlay’s part to take one step further to show their most soul-searching moments. It’s fascinating that the characters are left to guess each others’ emotional state, but it’s more challenging when the audience is asked to do the same. The painterly, slightly somber vistas of Amsterdam at twilight are beautiful, but the backdrop can only add so much flavor when the story has so little activity.
Although these are handicaps in making “Midwinter Break” insert the conflict needed to make its final moments hit harder, there’s no fault to be found in the performances, which rank among the best that the respective stars have ever given. Hinds has a thoughtful, deceptively profound way of characterizing Gerry’s sullied perspective on the world that speaks to a complex worldview, even if most of his dialogue is centered in the present.
As for Manville, she reaches shattering moments of composure as Stella attempts to double back on her self-actualized proclamations, which cause her to shift in and out of any semblance of normalcy. The chemistry is so strong that it’s easy to imagine an entire history in Gerry and Stella’s relationship, a quality that is particularly helpful when the film keeps much of their past ambiguous.
“Midwinter Break” isn’t reliant on a “reveal,” but it does build up to a showcase moment for Manville that could have either broken or saved the film altogether. It’s emblematic that Manville knocks the scene out of the park, making the emotional arc feel complete in the moment, even if it ultimately asks more questions than it answers. Yet, any hiccups within the missed details suggest that there’s something special within the writing that would cause such vested interest.
Even at its most reserved and formally basic, “Midwinter Break” uses the language of cinema to touch upon reactions, reflection, and retaliation on behalf of both Stella and Gerry, which couldn’t have been observed by simply reading the script (or the novel it was based on, for that matter). Considering how rare it is to see such a mature, well-rounded display of a challenged marriage that isn’t peppered with shouting matches, “Midwinter Break” is a unique romantic drama that is worth seeking out.
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