jmusgrave_1069 I'm an Anthony LaPaglia fan, so I wanted to love Winter Solstice. I wanted to write a one sentence review: "It was a fantastic film." But that would have been a lie. The truth is, Winter Solstice is a mess.The characters do inappropriate things: Jim Winters (LaPaglia) is stood up by his sons, and as a result, ends up on an awkward first date. So he throws their beds on the front lawn. I can only guess that sleeping outside is their punishment. Odd, considering it wasn't set up earlier in the film. But I suppose a more forgiving reviewer would let that one go.Then there's the issue of missing information. At one point in the narrative, Jim and Molly (Jim's new neighbour, played by Allison Janney), sit in his truck at a local Dairy Queen. Just after she gets in, he gives her some sort of long, meaningful look. She then reveals that she was engaged once but has never been married. How could she possibly know what he was thinking? I apologise if my morning latte neglected to kick in and I missed something, but it was such a jarring jump in logic, it was hard to take the rest of the film seriously.Then there's the soundtrack, which consisted of a lone acoustic guitar. As soon as I heard the first note, I knew I was in trouble. It was so earnest it bordered on condescending. It said, "Something heartfelt is about to happen." It said, "Be sad and contemplate the woes of these broken people." I know the score's supposed to carry the emotional subtext of the film, but even a gin-soaked Art Garfunkel on Valium would have rolled his eyes.The actors try though: Janney is a welcome presence when she enters the story and her chemistry with LaPaglia is great. But there's only so much you can do when you're trapped in a sloppy film. And Winter Solstice really is a sloppy film. (Paramount Classics)

jotix100 A family tragedy changed the lives of the Winters family. When we meet them, Jim, a landscape gardener, and his two children, Gabe and Pete, have not gotten over the death of the woman who held this family together. At this juncture of their lives, they appear resigned with what happened to them. The somewhat quiet family atmosphere is going to be suddenly changed.Jim, the father, who has not seen another woman since his wife's death, is suddenly awakened from his lethargy with the arrival of a well meaning woman who is house sitting for friends in the neighborhood. Molly is a fine listener; she hears what Jim has to tell her, as he opens to recount the anguish, he and his children, have been living.Gabe, the older son, is seeing Stacey, a lovely young woman who loves him in return. It comes as a shock when Gabe informs his father and brother he is moving to Tampa. Jim's immediate reaction is to ask "What about Stacey", to which he responds "I'm dealing with it". Gabe wants to leave the oppressive home atmosphere to re-start his life in a new area. His brother Peter, who was with his mother when the accident happened, can't express his feelings; he has kept his emotions bottled inside him. He is a bright young man, but does poorly in school, something one of his teachers, tries to get him to respond and participate in class.Josh Sternfeld created a sensitive and beautifully restrained film that shows that not all in life is rosy and that people suffer when tragedy strikes. The director, who also wrote the screen play, knows this family well. Not everything is gloom and doom because we realize, as we watch, things will improve, especially for Jim, who is attracted by a woman who clearly understands his situation.Anthony LaPaglia, who is also credited as one of the producers, shows he was the right actor to portray Jim Winters. This talented man doesn't make a false movement and stays true to his character all the time. Mr. LaPaglia, who worked with Allison Janney on Broadway in Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge", is again reunited with his co-star and they feel right for one another. Ms. Janney's Molly, although not a showy role, gives her an opportunity to shine.Aaron Stanford is seen as the older son, Gabe, and Mark Webber is Peter. Both actors do a credible job under the sure direction of Mr. Sternfeld. Ron Livingston is the kind teacher who sees possibilities in Peter and Michele Monaghan is perfect as Stacey, the girl that is dumped without much logic, by Gabe."Winter Solstice" was beautifully photographed by Harlan Bosmajian, who captures the world of suburbia in all its glory. The atmospheric music is by John Leventhal. Josh Sternfeld created an intimate portrait about pain and anguish, as this family

tralee71-1 /Can anyone tell me why the film was given this title? All or most of the story took place in warm months. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year./I mostly enjoyed this movie and its acting, and was charmed during most of the movie by the director's use of silence. Much of the emotion came just from the actors' expressions, glances, restraint. But after 80 minutes or so of restraint, I wished to God someone, anyone, would open his/her yap and speak true feelings, as well as some revealing dialog. /I can appreciate slice-of-life movies that lack a neatly tied bow at the end, but this one felt truncated to me. I wanted to know much more than we were told. Where was the setting of the film? Where was Allison Janney's "real" home?/Are there really entire families that substitute "hey" for all other forms of greeting, such as hello, hi, how are you, good morning?

noralee "Winter Solstice" is a quiet, almost all-male counterpart to "Imaginary Heroes," dealing with the same theme of family grief, and was even filmed in the same town of Glen Ridge, NJ.Debut writer/director Josh Sternfeld perfectly captures the inarticulatelessness of working class guys, particularly in father/son and brother/brother interactions.Anthony LaPaglia as the landscaper dad and Aaron Stanford as his restless older son add to the minimal script with on screen charisma. It's sweetly charming how absolutely clueless they are in their lack of communication with the women who are attracted to them, but Allison Janney and Michelle Monaghan are overly understanding minor characters in their intersections with the dad and older son, respectively. I presume this is to emphasize the hole in their lives caused by the absence of the mother.The problem is that without either more intervention by the women or the alcoholic violence of Sam Shephard's male family explorations, authentic looking and sounding guys hanging out together don't do very much or resolve issues. Pretty much the only plot point is the older son's gradual decision to leave --though I was surprised he has LPs to pack up--and how the other characters react to that.It was nice to see Brendan Sexton again, more filled out, but he looked distractingly like the younger son played by Mark Webber so that I was confused at first that he was the best friend not the brother.John Leventhal's intricate guitar playing on his original score is almost distractingly good. The song selections are beautiful sounding, though not particularly illustrative.