Winter Passing

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Winter Passing

    This film from novelist turned playwright turned screenwriter turned director, Adam Rapp, opens this weekend. I had high hopes for this one based on a little NYC indie buzz I'd heard about it. This stars Zooey Deschanel as the daughter of award winning novelist parents, Ed Harris as her father, and Will Farrell as her father's unintended house guest. The self-indulgent novelist-as-tortured-soul has been filmed many times before, often by much more adept directors. There was little memorable about this film. In fact, I much preferred the 5 minute short film, Mama Said, that preceded it at the advanced screening.

    How self-indulgent and cliched is this film? Let me put it this way ... Ed Harris' character is a reclusive alcoholic novelist who hasn't had a book published in decades ... his last name? Holdin. Holden Caufield anybody? I don't think I was supposed to roll my eyes or smile wryly when his last name was revealed.
    http://confoundedfilms.com

    http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

  • #2
    Re: Winter Passing

    Huh?

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Winter Passing

      Hairy: A character named "Holdin"? Is he particularly anal?

      I'm serious.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Winter Passing

        Did he have a little brother?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Winter Passing

          Authy. It's a movie. It wasn't released by one of your beloved studios, so you'll never see it. If it's the Holden Caufield reference that confused you, have a look at the literary career of J.D. Salinger.

          Jake, suffering from pedantry again?

          I'm almost positive the name was spelled "Holdin" on the dust jackets of his books in the film, but all of the promo materials read "Holden". I remember thinking, "At least they spelled it differently than the kid in Catcher in the Rye." Ah, who gives a fvck. It wasn't very good.
          http://confoundedfilms.com

          http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Winter Passing

            Goldilocks and the Three Bears,

            The original story, circa18oo's, had Goldilocks afraid of the three bears, the fear of being able to love, the fear of sharing too much of her soul, the fear of people taking advantage of her fears of being able to share love and great happiness.

            Writer's, true writers are narrcisstic, a lie for sure.. writer's want to tell stories, poetic justice in an unjust world without fear of reprisals from friends, foes or the uncaring masses.

            Hairy, just tell the frig... story.. you are your own judge.. J.D. Slainger's book "The Cather in the Rye" is his story.

            Golidilocks was chased away by the three bears, never to be heard from again. Ask yourself.. can I go to the woods.. can I sit at a table, can I eat the porridge, can I lay in a bed... can I fall asleep... and if you awake.. will you run away to the forest to be never heard from again?

            Fear is a writer's greatest weakness.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Winter Passing

              Originally posted by YACAM
              Goldilocks and the Three Bears,

              The original story, circa18oo's, had Goldilocks afraid of the three bears, the fear of being able to love, the fear of sharing too much of her soul, the fear of people taking advantage of her fears of being able to share love and great happiness.

              Writer's, true writers are narrcisstic, a lie for sure.. writer's want to tell stories, poetic justice in an unjust world without fear of reprisals from friends, foes or the uncaring masses.

              Hairy, just tell the frig... story.. you are your own judge.. J.D. Slainger's book "The Cather in the Rye" is his story.

              Golidilocks was chased away by the three bears, never to be heard from again. Ask yourself.. can I go to the woods.. can I sit at a table, can I eat the porridge, can I lay in a bed... can I fall asleep... and if you awake.. will you run away to the forest to be never heard from again?

              Fear is a writer's greatest weakness.
              Uh...gimme a f*ckin' break.

              As for the movie? I just saw it tonight. It's never quite as good as it should be. There's a lot of familiar concepts at play. Zooey does a pretty nice job. Will Ferrell adds a sweet semi-humorous touch here and there, but his character and performance come off as almost unrealistic in the context of the movie.

              It's just a rather depressing movie that never really conveys any of the uplift that the characters supposedly found.

              Ele...

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Winter Passing

                Originally posted by YACAM
                J.D. Slainger's book "The Cather in the Rye" is his story.
                That Slainger was a real card. Um, actually it wasn't Salinger's story (why can't some readers ever learn than when novelists write a book it's not always about themselves? Jesus...).

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Winter Passing

                  You're kidding me right, Jake? I mean, OF COURSE every story is secretly about how the writer's father took him out to the tool shed. In metaphor. OR allagory. *







                  *note the sarcasm smilie.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Winter Passing

                    It's funny, but almost every time I've done a reading (when I've been out flogging a new book), there's always someone in the second or third row--always a woman--who sits there nodding and smirking. And when it's time for questions, she's always the first up: "I know why you wrote that scene. It's because you hated your mother." (Or variations on the same.)

                    Happens all the time.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Winter Passing

                      Maybe you should hide your maternal hatred a little better, jake.

                      And did someone just compare Salinger to Goldilocks? That post was nearly vig-like.
                      http://confoundedfilms.com

                      http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Winter Passing

                        It's always a variant on one or other bit of psychological insight. Perfect strangers claim to know you better than you do yourself. Comes with the territory, I'm afraid. (And those are the ones who never queue up to buy a copy afterwards.)

                        My advice, Hairy? Don't write books. Otherwise your deep dark past will become big, bright and public.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Winter Passing

                          My advice, Hairy? Don't write books. Otherwise your deep dark past will become big, bright and public.
                          Kind of like running for office?

                          I already bare my soul in my scripts and will in my films, so I don't see how books would be any different. Just less pay.
                          http://confoundedfilms.com

                          http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Winter Passing

                            Remember the novelist Henry Green's definition of a novel: "A long intimacy between strangers." Audiences for books are different from those for films. Each reader assumes him or herself the sole audience. They take it personally. And they jump to (usually) all the wrong conclusions.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Winter Passing

                              Well, yeah, "woman with cats" is less likely to appear at a film festival Q&A than at an author reading.
                              http://confoundedfilms.com

                              http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X