Emily Petillon
Managing Editor
“Winter’s Tale” is yet another contribution to romantic movies, made especially for Valentine’s Day, that is nothing more than unoriginal and sentimental tripe.
The film suffers from narrative inconsistencies that muddle the plot and story-line, as well as unsympathetic characters who lack any depth or development. As a result, it fails to execute an attempted magical premise.
“Winter’s Tale” is a romantic time travel movie adapted from Mark Helprin’s 1983 novel, following the life of a magical and honorable burglar named Peter Lake (Colin Farrell).
The movie begins in the early 1900s when Peter tries to break into a supposedly-abandoned house and falls in love with the resident, a beautiful and kind heiress named Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Finlay). After Beverly dies of tuberculosis, the movie jumps to the present where Peter, who is immortal, sets out for New York in an attempt to escape from his evil father figure, Pearley Soames (Russell Crowe). On his journey, he discovers a mythical side of New York City.
The movie spans over a century, but the timeline is unclear. Farrell jumps from playing an ageless man in a modern-day setting to a young man falling in love for the first time, without enough explanation as to why the setting and time has changed. There is a lack of clarity on how much time has passed between the scenes or for what reason it convolutes the film.
Another problem lies in the over-the-top and overly sentimental acting, which is overwrought and disingenuous. Crowe’s attempt at an Irish accent is laughable and turns his character from a frightening antagonist into a caricature. Finlay and Farrell try to bring a sense of seriousness to the story, but the lack of chemistry between the two makes love scenes feel wooden.
The plot takes too many unnecessary turns and spends too much time with irrelevant characters who contribute nothing to the overall plot arc. One example of this is Will Smith’s portrayal of a young, cool Lucifer, which, while amusing, comes out of nowhere in the middle of the movie and contributes nothing to the narrative. Even worse, the movie abandons the main love story entirely in order to take needless detours with present-day New York.
The mood of the movie is supposed to be serious but becomes increasingly hard to believe. The various magical happenings and plot contrivances draw attention away from the central love story. The addition of Farrell’s intelligent, talking, flying horse creates an even more ridiculous tone.
The only saving grace lies in the beautiful setting, as visual director Caleb Deschanel makes the snowy wintry scenes that Finlay and Farrell walk through together gorgeous and adds visual appeal to the entire movie. The movie makes the viewer long for the beauty of New York City in the winter.
Deschanel’s ability to craft stunning visuals attempts to save this movie but ultimately is not enough.
Despite stunning visuals, stilted acting performances, unnecessary secondary characters and an overly-convoluted plot makes “Winter’s Tale” an unsatisfying film overall.
“Winter’s Tale” is now playing in theaters nationwide and is rated PG-13.
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