The second movie in the double feature with my nephew last night was Midwinter Break and, based on the trailer, this looked like the kind of slow-burn drama that I usually enjoy. However, I found it even more disappointing than the first movie we saw. Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciaran Hinds) are an older couple who seem companionable but have grown apart so Stella surprises him with a trip to Amsterdam for Christmas. They excitedly pack, gush about their hotel room, and begin seeing all of the usual sights. However, as they visit churches for her and pubs for him, flashbacks slowly reveal that Stella was the victim of an attack forty years ago during the troubles in Northern Ireland. She views her survival as a miracle and, as a result, she is extremely devout but he views what happened as a failure to protect her and buries his pain in alcohol. Tensions, which appear after he mocks her piety and she criticizes his drinking, eventually force them to address their long-buried trauma. There are way too many tedious scenes in which Stella and Gerry do everything but talk about what is wrong (she tries to pretend that everything is fine and he is completely oblivious) and I spent most of the runtime waiting for some kind of catharsis which, when it does happen, is incredibly rushed and anticlimactic. The ambiguous resolution also left me feeling very frustrated and made me wonder what the point was. Manville and Hinds are brilliant actors and they do what they can but even they cannot elevate this dull material into something compelling. I did enjoy the beautiful cinematography featuring the city of Amsterdam (and my nephew loved the soundtrack) but I recommend giving this a miss.
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