DVD: A Slightly Too Sentimental Family Drama

Winter Passing (3/5 stars)

This is the story of a young, drug-addicted actress who happens to be the daughter of two famous novelists. One day she is approached by a book editor and offered a large sum of money if she can retrieve for publication a group of letters written to her recently deceased mother by her father.

She goes to visit her father, whom she has not seen in years, even before her mother's death, in order to retrieve the letters so that she can receive her money. Her dad has problems of his own; he is failing as a writer, and has become an alchoholic. He lets quirky people who aren't even related to him live in his house while he decides to live in his own garage. After making the trip, she begins to know her father again, as well as his new compaions. Very predictably, she learns the value of family/loved ones, etc, etc, and you can probably guess what she ends up doing in the end.

While the plot is very recycled and fairly predictable, the mood is set well with the direction and the performances from the cast are good (Zooey Deschanel, Ed Harris, Will Ferrell playing drama, amongst others), so the movie is not a complete loss. It is just nothing particularly spectacular.