anyone who saw alan rickman 's finely - realized performances in truly madly deeply and sense and sensibility will be unsurprised that the actor - turned - director is a bit of a poet at heart .
however , for those who recall him only as the maniacal villain of die hard and robin hood : prince of thieves , this recognition may be something of a shock .
nevertheless , " poetic " is an excellent term to describe rickman 's feature debut as a director , the winter guest .
the film has a simple , unhurried rhythm that uses all of the available elements to fashion a successful whole .
the result is an occasionally haunting , sometimes magical , and always insightful human drama .
the winter guest is n't about resolving plot threads and advancing a story line ; it 's about exploring relationships and examining life in all of its stages .
the winter guest does not tell a traditional tale , nor does it ascribe to a conventional narrative structure ?
there is no real beginning or end .
instead , we are given an opportunity to observe one day in the lives of eight humans .
they represent both sexes , multiple generations , and a variety of relationships ?
male and female ; young , middle - aged , and elderly ; friends , would - be lovers , and kin .
we see expectations fulfilled and disappointed , emotional boundaries eroded , and truths unveiled .
there is comedy and tragedy .
most importantly , much of what transpires during the course of the winter guest will find an echo in our own lives ?
in this fiction can be found much truth .
the setting is small town in scotland on the coldest day of the year .
it 's so frigid that the sea has begun to freeze over .
the onshore wind cuts like a knife and snow blankets the beach , giving the terrain an alien appearance .
it is against this backdrop that the relationships of the film are captured .
there are four pairings , and , although there is some interaction between the different twosomes , the winter guest 's focus is on the dynamics internal to each relationship .
the first , meatiest pairing is that of elspeth ( phylida law ) and her recently - widowed daughter , frances ( emma thompson ) .
these two have a stormy relationship .
they love each other deeply , but both are stubborn and willful , and neither is willing to admit that they need the other .
much of their interaction is argumentative , but , during the course of a long walk to the frozen shoreline , they come to an unspoken understanding of how much each means to the other .
frances ' adult son , alex ( gary hollywood ) , is a lonely young man who has been caring for his mother since the death of his father .
on this day , he meets a girl , nita ( arlene cockburn ) , who has secretly been spying on him for weeks .
although their first encounter is antagonistic ( she throws a snowball at him ) , both quickly become aware of an undeniable attraction .
once they retire to a place where they can be alone , however , things do n't go exactly as planned .
lily ( sheila reid ) and chloe ( sandra voe ) are a couple of old friends who are frequent funeral attendees .
death is a topic of endless fascination for them , perhaps because they are so close to it , and they spend their spare time scanning the obituaries , looking for the next funeral or cremation in the area .
it does n't matter whether or not they knew the deceased .
it 's the ceremony that they 're interested in .
sam ( douglas murphy ) and tom ( sean biggerstaff ) , a pair of schoolboy chums , are spending this cold february day cutting classes and hanging out at the beach , horsing around , building a small fire for warmth , and walking on the frozen water .
unlike lily and chloe , these two have their entire lives ahead of them .
they are young enough to still believe in magic , but old enough to recognize that the process of crossing into adulthood robs life of the simple joy that only children can experience .
the acting is strong and believable .
the mixture of veteran performers and first - timers is effective , with the most successful choice being the casting of real - life mother and daughter phylida law and emma thompson in the most prominent roles .
there is a chemistry in their interaction that would be hard to replicate with two different , non - related actors .
and , of course , the physical resemblance makes it that much easier to accept elspeth and frances as parent and child .
the winter guest began its life as a stage play in 1995 , with rickman as the director .
four of the film 's principals , phylida law , arlene cockburn , sheila reid , and sandra voe , appeared in the theatrical version before moving to the film .
unlike several recent motion pictures adapted from plays , the winter guest has been successfully opened up .
the rough , bleak scottish countryside becomes as much of a character as any of the eight humans .
in fact , considering how important the climate is to every relationship under rickman 's microscope , it could be argued that this is the single most important element of the movie .
if you appreciate character studies , the winter guest is a solid effort with enough power to stay with you after you have left the theater .
a successful whole always insightful successfully opened up the most successful choice the acting is strong and believable a solid effort with enough power to stay with you