Midwinter Break, 2026.
Directed by Polly Findlay.
Starring Lesley Manville, Ciarán Hinds, Julie Lamberton, Ed Sayer, Niamh Cusack, Leila Laaraj, and Tim Licata.
SYNOPSIS:
A longtime couple take a life-changing trip to Amsterdam.
Whether or not religious miracles exist is certainly a topic for debate. Something of that nature is at the center of director Polly Findlay’s midlife marriage drama Midwinter Break, but the film (which comes from a screenplay by Nick Payne and Bernard MacLaverty, with the latter adapting his own novel) is more preoccupied with a vacation to Amsterdam that, while trying to serve a point and play into one character’s faith, practically feels superfluous. It’s quite shocking how little happens here until the end, when the film really begins (only to resolve itself in a baffling fashion). In that respect, this comes across as a novel that has only had its first couple of chapters adapted for the screen, with the rest squashed into one unconvincing scene from a story perspective.
This is frustrating, since once it becomes clear that part of the problem with these empty-nesters in a seemingly loveless marriage stems from Stella (Lesley Manville) perceiving something that happened in her life as a divine miracle, whereas Gerry (Ciarán Hinds) showed little curiosity, and how that disagreement has caused a divide between them, it could have made for something emotionally rich to explore. Instead, the film plays coy about much of this until the third act. To be fair, it’s difficult to ascertain what Gerry’s passions are besides napping and drinking (one would think there would be far less time for the former on a trip to Amsterdam, but that is not the case). However, the proceedings here are so dull, even by travelogue standards, that it is tempting to follow Gerry’s lead and go to sleep (there were three people at my showing, and that’s exactly what one of them did; it’s hard to blame him).
For people at the very least in their 50s, Stella and Gerry clearly don’t communicate much, as it’s also hard to believe they would even get to this point and on a vacation to Amsterdam without talking about some of these issues, whether it be her desire to pursue a life more devoted to Catholicism or a want to leave him due to his alcoholism growing worse over the years. Living in Scotland, fleeing war in their homeland of Ireland, there is some historical context and feelings of shame at play, which only further begs the question of why this is mostly taking place in Amsterdam when there is inherently more drama in the home that they lived in for 30 years, which, to Stella, has never felt like home.
Much of Midwinter Break follows this older couple around on a fittingly dull tour through Amsterdam, whether it be walking through the streets or a visit to the Anne Frank house. The real reason they are here is that Stella knows of a religious community where she would like to live. She was granted a miracle and feels as if she hasn’t done enough to repay the Lord for her prayers. Gerry thinks this is all nonsense and chooses to drown himself in another drink. It’s no wonder that when he slips and falls in the bathtub, there is a telling laugh from Stella; she apologizes and assists him back to his feet, but the bitterness and resent is there.
It likely goes without saying that, even if the story here is endlessly teased and dragged out until it’s suddenly over, Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds deliver emotive performances that convey the rift in this relationship and the lack of happiness in both their lives. Naturally, when it comes time for them to start acting in more of an emotional, verbal sense during the climax, they are also fantastic. That also, once again, undercuts the potential here for a moving, thought-provoking drama about time-tested relationships and whether differences in religious philosophies can overcome them, not to mention other baggage. They deserve better than Midwinter Break, a film that wastes its characters, drama, and Amsterdam. If miracles do exist, this film isn’t one of them.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
