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What happens if you meet someone you like, and know they are lying about who they are? What if you're lying too, even to yourself? Is there any way back from that? If you have a nostalgic longing for the romcoms of the '90s, "The Winter House," latest movie from indie filmmaker Keith Boynton, has both good and bad news for you. The good news is, this is the movie you were actually looking for, but didn't know it until now. The bad news is that you probably didn't wake up this morning in a charming New England cottage with the dishy Francois Arnaud. No disrespect to Lili Taylor. Her character, Eileen, definitely holds the POV here. Eileen is the latest, perhaps the calmest and at the same time the strongest (so far) of all the formidably strong and capable female characters Boynton writes so beautifully and completely. Both Taylor's and Arnaud's performances are rock-solid, the nuances of their close-ups and micro-expressive reaction shots astonishingly masterful. This movie is not what you think at first--or on the first two or three guesses. But eventually all will be revealed. Beautiful photography, lovely score by Michael Ford, masterfully nuanced performances aided by sensitive dialogue and direction from writer/director Keith Boynton. Authentic, improbable and very satisfying.

Theatre friends, Bard buffs, Macbeth mavens, iambic pentameter addicts and lovers of a classic rom-com in which all ends well, I beg you not to miss this lovely movie. Polymathic writer-director Keith Boynton brings a gentle and satisfying gem of a movie that is literate, lovely to look at and listen to, and purely enjoyable. Anyone who has worked or seen any New England theatre festival performance will feel right at home here. Every discipline in this movie, from writing to acting to directing to lights, sound, cinematography, location and sets, is exquisitely right. Shout out to the hilariously acted character of the stage manager! My new favorite Christmas movie. After all, A Christmas Carol is a ghost story, too.