Jeri Jacquin
Coming to streaming services such as Apple TV, Amazon, and Sling TV and also on VOD from writer/director Keith Boynton, Choice Films and Freestyle comes the story of the unexpected when looking for solace in THE WINTER HOUSE.
Eileen (Lili Taylor) has found the most remote place on a lake in New Hampshire to spend time alone. Happy for the solace, she spends time walking, reading and thinking - which can be dangerous for a writer. The days pass with some semblance of routine until one night there is a stranger in the kitchen. Stumbling around is Jesse (Francois Arnaud), intoxicated and also unsure of what is happening.
After introductions, Eileen makes it clear that she is renting the house and that Jesse needs to find his way to his own home. Trying to sober him up, she decides to let him stay the night. After a few days of his company, a bit of irritation sets in feeling that her whole reason for being at the house feels intrusive.
Even sending him away doesn't last long but their conversations become more personal and deeper. Each has the chance to share what has happened to put them in the spot they are both in. Especially when a man named Paul (Hunter Emery) shows up at Eileen's door demanding to see Jesse and now the whole truth in both their lives comes to a head and neither can run away any longer.
Taylor as Eileen gives the performance clearly of a distraught woman who, after so many years, is no longer sure what she wants from this life. Taking time away has several purposes and none of them will move her forward. Not even the unexpected visitor seems to shock her in any way but instead Taylor’s Eileen accepts it all as it is and not what Jesse might want it to be. Taylor’s performance is deliberate, sadly sweet and filled with details as they come to light.
Arnaud as Jesse reacts the opposite of Eileen. Where she is quiet and deliberate, he is loud and emotional. He also has a trunk load of secrets that cannot stay hidden from anyone, no matter how much Jesse drinks. Trying to find a connection to something that is tangible, Arnaud’s portrayal of Jesse is that of a man who knows what the right thing is, but, as with all human beings with a past, fear can be ever controlling.
Emery as the mysterious Paul is the brute tension to the story and he does it in a short scene. That keeps the guessing high wondering when this character is going to show up again.
Other cast include Stephen C. Bradbury as the Shop Owner and Beth Fowler as Deborah.
Freestyle Releasing specializes in releasing films theatrically and representing independent films. Releasing content through Freestyle Digital Media, their most successful film theatrically to date is the 2014 film GOD’S NOT DEAD. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.freestyledigitalmedia.tv
THE WINTER HOUSE is a slow-paced story that is laid out in increments allowing the viewer to be a part of the deeper story that is to come. Keeping the cast small is a favorite of mine because it allows us to quietly enter into the room and experience for ourselves the story’s we don't tell each other. Eileen is a complex character in her own right trying to hide the bag of bricks she carries in solace. Jesse is less complex but still a man who has created his own path and now it’s time to clean it up.
Taylor and Arnaud together are a powerhouse but in a subtle way. In fact, the entire film is subtle with nothing earth shattering or loud but instead, a deep quiet dive into the lives of two human beings who are looking for a connection that allows their existence to make sense. That is what makes the film relatable as well, two people with the same feelings in a shared space with only one thing separating them – secrets.
In the end – how far away is far enough?
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