AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

edwagreen Often a very brooding film with characters who appear lifeless and just reciting their lines.Basically, it's the story of a writer who finds inspiration to continue his work after a visit from his daughter. Of course, she has a motive for visiting-collecting money if she can secure the love letters her dad wrote to her now deceased mother.The films just feels depressing and to me all the characters were stilted including Will Ferrell, who for a change acts in a dramatic role.dEd Harris is completely unrecognizable as the father. He looks like a flower child out of the 1960s with that long-white hair.Just like the winter, you will be glad when this wintry film passes.

bobsgrock An earnest attempt to adopt both literary and highbrow cinematic techniques into an indie story, Winter Passing reminds one of the state in which American cinema has found itself over the last decade or so. To categorize broadly, there are the main-stream, box office extravaganzas with huge budgets, casts, advertising campaigns and hopes. On the flip side is a film like this; personal, introspective, rough around the edges, yet still not altogether coherent and meaningful.A film like this depends even more so on its actors and writing than more grand movies due to its lack of polish and refinement. Often, this can still lead to an effective experience, but here under writer/director Adam Rapp's embalmed oversight, much of the story suffers from a case of severe underplaying. Zooey Deschanel, a marvelous actress, maintains her ethereal beauty and her doe-like eyes continue to draw us into her soul. Yet, in many scenes she seems to be subdued in not being able to fully express herself, allowing for a somewhat uneven and stilted performance. Ed Harris gives the film's best performance as a once-brilliant writer on the verge of total collapse after the death of his wife and Will Ferrell shows once again the full capabilities of his range with this subtle, nuanced performance to go alongside his much broader roles of Ron Burgundy and Ricky Bobby.Though most of the actors do rise above the material, the material itself is often too cluttered and uneven to maintain the audience the whole way through. Several sequences serve little to no purpose of the overall plot, including one early thread which serves as the entire reason for the story, only to be dumped by the end of the film for supposed "artistic" purposes; i.e., ambiguity serves as a great excuse for unconvincing writing. Some characters remain constant, while others seem to be strung along by the plot as if they were puppets. Essentially, Rapp seems interested only in arriving to his abrupt and rather unsatisfying conclusion, seemingly to show us how far everyone has come. Everyone, that is, except for the audience.

mr_popcorn Reese Holden: "I just can't believe this is the same man who told his six-year-old daughter that Christmas was a Republican capitalistic conspiracy created by the Hallmark Corporation and that, if Jesus were alive today he'd be down in Nicaragua rallying the Sandinistas. Grace Away." Actress Reese Holden has been offered a small fortune by a book editor if she can secure for publication the love letters that her father, a reclusive novelist, wrote to her mother, who has since passed away. Returning to Michigan, Reese finds that an ex-grad student and a would-be musician have moved in with her father, who cares more about his new friends than he does about his own health and well-being.The first thing you'll notice in this film is Zooey Deschanel's acting. I know I did, she is just a stunning character actress and only a few people know of her stellar performance here. If only this film was marketed more in the veins of mainstream Hollywood then Zooey might just get the applaud and praise of the movie-going audience. While the script might not pique the interest of some people, and I admit, I am one of them, I gotta say this film worked because of the actors.This is a character driven story and each of the four main characters really got the job done. Its not Zooey Deschanel portraying Reese Holdin, its Reese Holdin as portrayed by Zooey Deschanel. The same goes to Will Ferrell, who yet again strays from his comedic roots and takes on another fine performance as hopeful musician Corbett. He nailed it in Stranger than Fiction and he nailed it again here. Ed Harris who plays Reese's dad, a down and out writer Don Holdin sporting the old man hermit hairstyle. A mighty fine performance from one of the most celebrated actors out there. Then there's Amelia Warner. Can't say I haven't heard of her name before but she sure was impressive here.Winter Passing is one of those dark and moody films about a dysfunctional family so the vibe is really not that jolly when you're watching it. So I guess its up to you if you wanna watch it.

futures-1 "Winter Passing" (2005): This is a quiet, subtle film full of interesting people and complex emotions buried within private lives. Slowly the story weaves together, as the main characters find themselves connecting to others. Starring Ed Harris (great), Zoeey Dechanel (a growing favorite of mine), Will Ferrell (in an understated, odd role), Amelia Warner (as the "glue" of the group), and Amy Madigan (as the "catalyst"). This is my first viewing. Upon further viewings, it could end up in my top category. "Winter Passing" belongs somewhere in a grouping that would also include "Avalon" and "Unstrung Heroes". It is gentle, sad, quiet, painful, quirky, almost funny for split seconds, mysterious, loving, fragile, and forgiving.