The Winter Guest (1997)

Emotionally moving film set in a near fairy-tale landscape
The second best thing about this film is its lyrical and lovely musical score, with some fine folk songs added in to the mix. The scenery of the frozen Scottish landscape and the quaint town in which the story is staged is beautiful; but it is Thompson's and Law's performances as a typical loving-battling, wanting-to-escape-each-other, forever-bound-together mother and daughter that are stunning. The mother's persistence against all odds is shown from the start, as she walks a harrowing route to her daughter's home, there to ply Thompson from the bathroom where she is hiding from her mother. The bickering begins, with lots of interaction that shows the ordinary tensions between mothers and daughters, but it brings about a catharsis for Thompson's character, who is a widow grieving for a lost husband. Following these two through the few hours of their day together is enthralling. If you are a woman, you are bound to recognize your mother or daughter in this relationship...

A work of visual beauty....
The setting for "The Winter Guest" (based on the stage play) is a small fishing village in Scotland where the sea is frozen as far as the eye can see. Frances (Emma Thompson) is a professional photographer mired in grief over the recent death of her husband. She cannot make herself climb out of bed -- even for her son. Photographs Frances took of her deceased husband line the walls and run up the stairs. At one point during the film her son tells a friend their house is haunted and his dead father has imprisoned his mother.

One cold winter day, Frances' mother Elspeth (Phyllida Law--Emma's real mother) comes calling -- she is the 'winter guest.' She encourages Frances to start living again. At Elspeth's urging, she and Frances spend the day together walking and talking in the frozen landscape -- Frances with her camera in hand and Elspeth with her cigarettes. At the end of the walk, Frances seems a bit less grieved and the frozen space between the mother and...

An extraordinary debut by director Alan Rickman--gorgeous, beautifully acted, unique
"The Winter Guest" is Alan Rickman's first film as a director, and what a film it is. Having directed it first in the West End, he makes the transition to film with remarkable ease.

Masterfully acted by his dear friends Emma Thompson and her real-life mum, Phyllida Law as the titular "Guest" (the literal guest--the metaphorical "guest" is the unknown/death/the next stage of growth). She's a rather unwelcome visitor to her grieving daughter's home--having just lost her husband to death she just wants to be left alone. Rickman does something which is becoming rarer and rarer amongst directors: he reveals the characters rather than trying to dazzle us with "aren't I a genius first-time-director" trickery designed to call attention to him, rather than to his story. He does this by using simple, quiet but absolutely exquisite cinematography (by Seamus McGarvey) to capture the wild beauty of the far north of Scotland in the dead of a harsh but beautiful winter, creating almost...

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