Winter People

This is a film that took me by surprise. Impressive in its delicate sensiblity of the human emotions. This is best illustrated at Kurt Russell's outburst when one of his clocks is destroyed. Well directed and well acted. One of Russell's best acting performances. Not an action film, or anything to really rock you in your seat but a powerful human story. A+

Widowed clockmaker Kurt Russell brings his daughter, Amelia Burnette, to the Carolina Piedmont. There he falls in love with single mother Kelly McGillis. However, when the baby's drunken father comes calling, the pair of them are forced into desperate action.

The movie is replete with carefully offered symbolism, almost certainly from the novel by John Ehle), mostly about the wintry stasis of people and society during the early stages of the Roosevelt New Deal, to characters' names (I'm reading Scott's KENILWORTH, so Russell's character's name of "Wayland" seems apt), to the way cinematographer Francois Protat lights the shots in a greyness that doesn't break until the end. Ordinarily I would find this sort of movie pompous with its easy-to-analyze details substituting for the things that interest me most: character and story.

This one never does, thanks to a fine cast under a solid director. Ted Kotcheff may be best know for his gross comedy hit WEEKEND WITH BERNIE, but his long resume shows a respectful handling of movies about subcultures: not only THE APPRENTICESHIP OF DUDDY KRAVITZ, but NORTH DALLAS FORTY.

This movie was filmed near my hometown in the Western North Carolina mountains in a little community called Plumtree in Avery County. The severe winter weather depicted in the film is like it really is. The elevation here is about 3500 feet and the area gets enough snow to support a large snow skiing industry.

One of dozens of movies saved the past couple of years for viewing, that I remembered hearing years ago were good - but never had the chance to watch.

Some are fine. Some are not.

This one is better than expected.

Always loved Kelly McGillis, and Kurt Russell is excellent in this film. Initially it looks like we're going to be stuck viewing Hatfields and McCoys type nonsense, but among the feuds and fights, difficult events lead to compromise and a satisfactory ending.

A couple of hunting scenes, and injured or killed animals, but nothing too graphic. It is depression era mountain life.

Worth seeing through to the end.

Deceptively marketed as a "Deliverance" retread, it has, in fact, more in common with Peter Weir's "Witness" and Richard Pearce's "Heartland". Kurt Russell plays Wayland Jackson, a humble widower who begins a new life with his daughter in North Carolina. When he meets and falls in love with Collie Wright (Kelly McGilis), he must prove his mettle to her father (Lloyd Bridges) and deal with local animosity towards him.

Director Ted Kotcheff, who also made "First Blood", "Uncommon Valor" and the brilliant "Split Image", a scathing look at a religious sect, brings his considerable experience with personal politics to this well made, beautifully acted, snow-bound drama.

The film's last act is where the violence flares and the stage is set for several bloody, taut altercations. The film, however, never loses sight of its personal story and focuses closely on the courage and resilience of good, honest folk.

John Scott's score is hypnotic.