The Winter Guest

The Winter Guest
The Winter Guest
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Alan Rickman
Written by	Sharman Macdonald; Alan Rickman
Produced by	Steve Clark-Hall ; Edward R. Pressman
Starring	Phyllida Law; Emma Thompson; Sheila Reid; Sandra Voe; Arlene Cockburn; Gary Hollywood; Sean Biggerstaff; Douglas Murphy;
Cinematography	Seamus McGarvey
Edited by	Scott Thomas
Music by	Michael Kamen
Production; company	Capitol Films
Distributed by	FilmFour Distributors
Release dates	28 August 1997 (Venice Film Festival); 24 December 1997 (United States); 9 January 1998 (United Kingdom);
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$1.3 million

The Winter Guest is a 1997 drama film directed by Alan Rickman (in his feature directorial debut) and starring Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson.

Plot

Set in Scotland on one wintry day, the film focuses on eight people; a mother and daughter, Elspeth (Phyllida Law) and Frances (Emma Thompson); two young boys skipping school, Sam (Douglas Murphy) and Tom (Sean Biggerstaff); two old women who frequently attend strangers' funerals, Chloe (Sandra Voe) and Lily (Sheila Reid); and two teenagers Nita (Arlene Cockburn) and Alex (Gary Hollywood). The film consists primarily of the interactions between the characters.^[1]

History

The film is based on Sharman MacDonald's play,^[2] premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse (in the Quarry studio theatre, 23 January to 18 February 1995) before transferring to the Almeida Theatre in London (14 March to 15 April 1995).

Like the film it was also directed by Rickman, starring Law, Reid, Voe and John Wark, with Siân Thomas in the role of Frances, played in the film by Emma Thompson.^[2]^[3]

Much of the film was shot in around Pittenweem, Elie and Earlsferry and Crail in Fife.^[4]

Reception

The film was met warmly by critics, with Thompson winning an award at the Venice Film Festival. It holds a 63% "Fresh" score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 27 reviews with an average rating of 6.5/10.^[5]

In the United Kingdom, it grossed £250,689,^[6] and a worldwide total of $1.3 million.

Awards and nominations

British Independent Film Awards (UK)
- Nominated: Best British Actress (Emma Thompson)^[7]
Brussels International Film Festival (Belgium)
- Won: Audience Award (Alan Rickman)
Chicago Film Festival (USA)
- Won: Gold Hugo – Best Film (Alan Rickman)
Czech Lion (Czech Republic)
- Nominated: Best Foreign Language Film (Alan Rickman)
European Film Awards
- Nominated: Best Actress (Emma Thompson)
Venice Film Festival (Italy)
- Won: 'CinemAvvenire' Award (Alan Rickman; tied with A Ostra e o Vento and Giro di lune tra terra e mare).
- Won: OCIC Award (Alan Rickman)
- Won: Pasinetti Award – Best Actress (Emma Thompson)
- Nominated: Golden Lion (Alan Rickman)

References

^ Stephen Holden (23 December 1997). "'The Winter Guest': Unabashedly Mushy". New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b Thomas, Kevin (24 December 1997). "'The Winter Guest' Explores Relationships With Elegance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
^ Desson, Howe (16 January 1998). "A cold-hearted 'winter guest'". Washington Post. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
^ "A Winter's Tale". Herald Scotland. 20 December 1997. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
^ "The Winter Guest". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
^ "British biz at the box office". Variety. 14 December 1998. p. 72.
^ "The Winter Guest · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards". BIFA · British Independent Film Awards. 11 October 1998. Retrieved 26 October 2023.