Winter's End

Nice to see an independent film set in countryside I know. Anyway, it is a pretty good independent production, with as good performances as I've seen in any indie. For a movie set in rural Ireland, the accents weren't too hard to understand. If I had a fault with the film, it would be in the pacing. It needed a little faster pace. Also, the music, it was OK, got a little annoying after a while. Other than that, I was very happy with the DVD I purchased thru www.Indieflix.com, very good picture and sound. If you like suspense, and something a little different, then go check this one out, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I loved this film. Mysteries are my favorite venue; I have all the English ones; Morse, Frost, Poirot, PDJames, Christie, Midsomer Murders, Alleyn, etc. and all of the Irish movies I can find. I loved the lighting in this film, the quiet yet intense suspense, and the purity of the filming which concentrates solely upon the characters and the situation. There are no gimmicks, flashbacks, or any device which detracts from the story. The intensity builds based upon the strong acting of the deranged brother and his emotionally blackmailed sister. As in the film "The Field", his monomaniacal, yet historically understandable, love of his land leads to the conclusion.

Winner "Best Picture" 2005 Hollywood dv Film Festival - My sixteen year old son Travis, a junior at Booker VPA film school, Sarasota, FL, and I flew into Hollywood for the 2005 DV Film festival taking place at Raleigh Studio's across the street from Paramount. Travis had two films accepted to the Festival this year so we sat through as many of the films as our butts could tolerate the entire week. Winter's End was absolutely brilliant! The writing, acting, cinematography, music, sound effects, editing and directing were outstanding. The story unfolds on the most beautiful country side farm land and holds your attention from beginning to end. I had a chance to meet Patrick and Carol Kenny at the awards party and would like to say they are the nicest most genuine people you could ever meet. Thank you Patrick for spending time with Travis and "farming the film experience" in an imaginative sixteen year old.

Best Wishes to you. Regards rich

Why the high reviews for this film? This film is almost impossible to watch. It is gruesome, ridiculous, violent, and ignorant. It is also very poorly made with no cinematic qualities of interest - not acting, cinematography, editing, well, or anything worthy at all! What in the world are people finding of value here? It is not entertaining, not interesting, borderline laughable, with no message or point of view. How can viewers give it high ratings? Are the ratings all from people with money interest in the movie?

The plot, production, direction and acting in Winters End are all top class. This translates into a really good film experience where you are sucked in and kept wondering until the last moments how it will all end up. The plot is really very interesting and plausible in a country that values the land and heritage more than anything else. Passions that have certainly driven many a man or woman to insanity and occasionally even murder. Although the film is mainly shot at one location - the acting is so powerful that the location only becomes a backdrop to the action rather than a distraction. The actors are very well cast and Henry is particular worth a mention as the psycho brother who has really lost the plot in the meaning of life. Looking forward to the next production from the team!