Movie #224.........................."Winter Solstice"

Movie #224 "Winter Solstice" was well acted and very real. It was like watching this family through their living room window. Tragedy struck this family 5 years before and they are still reeling ---- possibly therapy for each of them might have put them in a better spot, but then ordinary working citizens can't find the time or the money for that, so they just get through the day. Dad thinks he is doing his best by working his butt off in a landscaping business just to keep his head above water, paying for the kids' food, clothes, etc. As a thanks, the older son wants to leave and the younger one keeps flunking classes in high school. They all seem so sad and lonely ------and the film shows what grief can do to a family. But five years down the road, fences need to start to get mended and life must go on, and that's where we find this family. I liked the movie all the way until the end ---- I felt the ending needed to be more final ------just as the film shows the quiet moments of their lives (there's no wedding, there's no graduation here, baby steps), the film quietly ends. I guess I just wanted more reassurance that these people, whom I got to know and like in the film, would make it. I so wanted them to.




Average rating: 2.592
I gave it 3 stars
Our best guess for DONNA: 3.0 stars
Average of 23,559 ratings: 2.6 stars
Winter Solstice
2004R89 minutes
A previously self-contained widower (Anthony LaPaglia) living in the drab suburbs of New Jersey faces a domestic crisis of sorts when he's forced to confront his younger son's self-destructive behavior and his older son's (Aaron Stanford) decision to assert his adulthood by leaving home. Costars Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Brendan Sexton III, Michelle Monaghan and Mark Webber. Josh Sternfeld directs.

Cast:Anthony LaPaglia, Aaron Stanford, Mark Webber, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Michelle Monaghan, Brendan Sexton III, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kel O'Neill, Jason Fuchs, Thomas SadoskiDirector:Josh SternfeldGenres:Drama, Indie Dramas, Paramount Home EntertainmentThis movie is:UnderstatedFormat:DVD and streaming