Director: Polly Findlay
Writers: Bernard MacLaverty, Nick Payne
Stars: Lesley Manville, Ciarán Hinds, Niamh Cusack
Synopsis: Midwinter Break is a stirring meditation on faith, commitment, and the enduring power of love, as a longtime couple takes a life-changing trip to Amsterdam.
Sometimes, saying nothing at all is more powerful than uttering a word. This was true in Joachim Trier’s (incredible) Sentimental Value, and is the main driving force behind Polly Findlay’s Midwinter Break. Adapting from the book of the same name written by Bernard MacLaverty, Findlay, in her feature directorial debut, thrives in the silence and unspoken words of couple Gerry (Ciarán Hinds) and Stella (Lesley Manville), as the two go on a trip to Amsterdam over the holidays and perhaps fracture their longstanding marriage forever.
Findlay is best known for her theater work, and she seems to apply the techniques developed in this art form to the medium of film. After all, Midwinter Break is essentially a two-hander between Hinds and Manville as they walk around the streets of Amsterdam and begin to reveal their vulnerabilities throughout their visit. Stella is a devout catholic who feels a close connection to a higher power and is travelling to Amsterdam for ulterior motives Gerry doesn’t know about, but he’s completely oblivious to anything going on since he’s always drinking. To say he has a drinking problem would be an understatement (we see him take his statins with a fairly full glass of whiskey, as an example), which bothers Stella, but she keeps these thoughts to herself.
There was once love in this couple, but it’s nowhere to be found by the time the film opens. There’s an appreciation, sure, and they don’t mind being together, but the passion at the heart of the marriage is long gone, and has been for at least a decade. We know this because the characters barely look at one another when they’re speaking, and what they’re not saying about themselves reveals more about Gerry and Stella than a litany of extended dialogue scenes, which would’ve turned this filmic object into pure theatrics.
There might have been a version of Midwinter Break in which MacLaverty’s book was adapted into a play, and the actors would have had to represent their innermost feelings through exaggerated histrionics, which wouldn’t have worked. Findlay keeps everything subdued for the most part and only reveals the reason why both characters have been drifting apart for a long time when the plot truly requires it. When that happens, it’s also the moment where Manville has to monologue in front of someone she has recently met (played by Niamh Cusack) and deliver a powerful gut-punch that will not only linger with you, but repurpose what came before in a genuinely meaningful way.
Of course, this critic is trying to be (extremely) vague, not revealing what has caused the fractures in Gerry and Stella’s marriage, but I can say that Manville likely gives the best performance of her career in this. It’s a role that thrives on silence, until the unspoken feelings are too hard to bear and Stella must let it all out and reveal it all. When this occurs, it might be hard for you to hold back tears, because the emotions in Manville’s face, which have been built up throughout the film’s brief runtime, all cascade down in a monologue filled with immense, raw power.
The final scene is also an exemplary demonstration of both Manville and Hinds’ acting talents, as Gerry and Stella reckon with their own beliefs and ask themselves if staying together is truly worth it. I’ll let you discover this incredible sequence on your own, but it’s clear that audiences are sleeping on this simple yet emotionally impactful film that does a lot more by thriving on minimalism and sitting with the two protagonists grappling with an unfulfilled life than by making them speak about these feelings. It might be a little too standard on the filmmaking side, but it also doesn’t need to be flashy.
That said, the final image will probably stay with you forever, as Gerry and Stella now realize what’s most important about living in a world they don’t understand, and that has brought them massive amounts of pain. When this happens, you might gain a different understanding of your own life and perhaps see the world differently. In any event, don’t let this movie fly off your radar.
