Midwinter Break is a gentle movie about a long marriage and the small grievances and give and take of a lifetime together. Source: Australian Catholics.
It is based on the novel of the same name by Bernard Mc Laverty. However, at its heart is the disparity between the two partners. The wife, Stella (Manville), is a former teacher who is a devout Catholic and wants her life to be more “valuable” and her husband, Gerry (Hinds), is a retired architect who is derisive of her faith and has a drink problem.
A flashback to the Troubles in Belfast provides the backstory, and what Stella perceives as the miracle of her only child’s survival. Forty years later, they are living in Glasgow. As a Christmas present, Stella surprises Gerry with a weekend in Amsterdam.
The film starts off with the mundanities of travel and the casual intimacies between husband and wife are immediately recognisable.
Stella wants to visit a particular church where a miracle is said to have occurred. Gerry follows her around but shows little appreciation for how important her faith is to her, nor any understanding of how he has unwittingly diminished this part of her selfhood over the years.
She makes inquiries into the Berginhof, a secluded estate where the Beguine women (devout but not consecrated Catholic women) lived and undertook good works hundreds of years ago.
Here she meets Kathy (Cusack) who explains that the religious sisterhood no longer survives but the spirit of what they did still lives in this repurposed housing estate for single women.
This film explores the couple’s marriage and their love for each other, even though she is spiritual and he is secular. The acting was understated and authentic.
Many years ago, I did a Masters research unit on the Beguines and was fascinated by them, so this aspect of the film intrigued me. Occasionally slow, I came away thoughtful … not a bad way to let a movie do its work.
Review by Ann Rennie, Jesuit Media
Midwinter Break: Starring Lesley Manville, Ciaran Hinds, Niamh Cusack. Directed by Polly Findlay. 91 minutes. Rated M (Mature themes and coarse language)
FULL REVIEW
Midwinter Break (Australian Catholics)
