Winter Passing 2006

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Read more

Allison Benedikt, Chicago Tribune: Midway through, Rapp loses momentum, failing to hone in on just what kind of movie he wants to make, and Winter Passing languishes in that no-man's land between tiny, meandering, indie drama and plotted, pointed family melodrama. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Adam Rapp, who wrote and directed this ordeal, overloads a synthetic storyline with more complex and hard-won epiphanies than such a fragile little movie can support. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: The way it's done is so authentic, and you have such good performances from everybody involved here, and some very true writing. Read more

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Sometimes a single scene sets such a strong tone that the rest of the film has a hard time breaking it. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: There are intriguing actors and ideas here, but only occasionally do they combine with convincing force. Read more

Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times: A portrait of grieving artists, trying to get back to the quotidian business of suffering. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: [Rapp] brings out in Deschanel a sense of yearning, an avidity, that hits home. It's her most emotionally layered performance. Read more

Gregory Kirschling, Entertainment Weekly: A kind of lugubrious shtick takes over. Read more

Mario Tarradell, Dallas Morning News: It's a disturbing movie, particularly the first half, and one not easily digested. Read more

James C. Taylor, L.A. Weekly: It distinguishes itself thanks to assured performances that burn with quiet conviction. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The best part of Winter Passing -- is the way its random characters connect, like snowflakes bouncing off each other, like words suddenly taking shape on a page. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: Underneath the contemplative tone and poetic visuals lies a disappointingly familiar coming-of-age story. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: Adam Rapp's story of an embittered child's homecoming and confrontation with a parent throws off dramatic sparks, but they never flare into a blaze. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Winter Passing is a classic example of a pedestrian motion picture being lifted out of mediocrity by an arresting lead performance. Zooey Deschanel doesn't just elevate Winter Passing; she carries it. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: This is the kind of movie routinely dismissed as too slow and quiet by those who don't know it is more exciting to listen than to hear. Read more

Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: This flawed drama about a self-destructive young actress and her reclusive novelist father has its rewards, mainly in some good performances. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Family drama appears content to present the situation without going for anything remotely close to the emotional jugular. Read more

Jessica Winter, Village Voice: The film is so grindingly predictable that I was writing out a full plot synopsis in my notebook before it was half over, though the thick grains of Terry Stacey's photography and Deschanel's understated performance add a little kick. Read more

Desson Thomson, Washington Post: Winter Passing is one dull, extended encounter session among hackneyed characters. Read more