The Winter Guest

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Though long-winded and stagy at times, Rickman, in his directorial debut, poignantly explores the relationship of a mother and recently widowed daughter struggling to come to terms with aging — and with one another. A harsh and beautiful Scottish winter provides the backdrop for Thompson and Law's (Thompson's real-life mother) brilliant performances as the two women who spend a day bickering and talking as they walk through a seaside village. Interspersed with their walk are scenes of other townspeople coping with their own dramas. Like many British films of late, The Winter Guest is refreshingly devoid of Hollywood's signature hyperbole; instead of beating the audience over the head with obvious and banal themes, Rickman chooses to linger on the resonance of the details and lets his audience form their own conclusions.