Midwinter Break

It’s becoming increasingly rare these days that movies present stories with insightful, contemplative narratives, despite the fact that we probably need pictures like this now more than ever. However, viewers looking for films that provide them with profound food for thought should seriously consider screening this latest offering from director Polly Findlay. Based on the acclaimed 2017 novel of the same name by author Bernard MacLaverty, the film tells the story of Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciarán Hinds), a long-married couple who fled “the Troubles” in Belfast, Northern Ireland…

Not really my type of movie but I was lucky to get a free ticket from letterboxd so I watched it. The movie follows the series of events that unfold after an old couple with a monotonous life go to vacations on Amsterdam after a seemingly impromptu decision of the wife to bring some change to life. Turns out a traumatic event from many years ago is surfacing from her mind and has relation with the trip, which can bring grievous consequences to their relationship. Well shot and well-acted, a great movie if you enjoy slow-paced dramas.

According to novelist Bernard MacLaverty, this took almost nine years from contract to can and had quite a bumpy ride along the way via writers' strikes and COVID before they managed to recruit the services of Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds and take us all to Amsterdam. We know from the opening scenes that both hail from Belfast and that she, whilst pregnant, was caught up in the troubles necessitating their relocation to Glasgow. Now married for thirty-odds years, they live separate lives with “Stella” fairly devout with her faith and “Gerry” with his Scotch. It’s all amicable enough,…