A Long Winter, BFI London Film festival
Andrew Haigh’s drama is a very long one, about a very, very long winter.
The scenery is spectacular. The majestic mountains and the snow stretching as far as the eye can see. The cast is amazing and drapes a wet, heavy blanket of despair and desperation over us.
The movie starts quite brightly (on the surface, at least), giving us a glimpse of what an ordinary working-class life (from what I can imagine) looked like out in the woods in the early 1950s.
When the youngest brother, Tommy (Kit Connor), leaves for military service, the family dynamics slowly change. Or rather, the family dynamics that have already been changing for a long time start to surface. Kits role is small, his character is quite down to earth and he seems to be a solid ground for the family to stand on. But he suits the characters and the surroundings. The area of time fits him well
The impactful, heavy drama is masterfully acted by the parents: Lester (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Louise (Caitríona Balfe). You can cut the tension with a knife at times, and the despair almost hurts.
Left to handle all of this is Mike, the older brother, played by a brilliant Fred Hechinger.
When their mother disappears in a snowstorm, a search party is formed, and from here on, the search takes up most of their winter.
Mike takes on the biggest responsibility for finding his mum again, and he refuses to give up. He’s out looking for her day after day throughout the long winter.
Having to deal with his brother and confidant being away at war, and a mother who wandered into a snowstorm, is incredibly heavy. He finds a new confidant in Jimmy (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), who comes to work for the family, who seems to ease his burden a inch at least.
We get a moment to breathe amid the heavy drama, with some joy from the developing friendship, and Mike gets to experience the beginnings of his queer awakening. But there are taboos and 1950s values that keep’s reminding him/us of the age of time and his place and role in life.
Throughout all of this, we have a dad trying to keep it together through his own sadness and grief. Rattle a skeleton or two out of the good old cupboard, and you’ve got an old-school, slow-burning, really heavy drama.
Just as they should be.
A masterpiece from Andrew Haigh!