“Winter’s Tale” is multi-faceted film. It is a seemingly obvious love story, but then unexpectedly becomes a fantasy story, a mythological story, an astronomical story and even has some religious aspects. So with all of elements swirling around the screen, it is no wonder than Akiva Goldsman “passion project” does not truly deliver. It is a shame that the magical realism of “Winter’s Tale” doesn’t translate onto the screen, Mark Helprin’s 1983 novel makes believers out of pessimists and removes the cynicism from the world we have come to know in the 21st century. Goldsman is no stranger to adapted works of literatur. He received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2001 film, “A Beautiful Mind,” which also won the Oscar for Best Picture. He explained his book to film adaption process for “Winter’s Tale,” revealing that “adaptation is similar to throwing the book against the wall and watching what pages fall out.” Unlike his success with “A Beautiful Mind” the wrong pages fell out for his latest work, we never really understand the focus of the story or where the characters are going.
Is it a love story between two people from the industrial Edwardian era? Or is it a story about an unseen magical world dwelling within New York City? Or is it a story about religious works of God and miracles or is it about astronomy and what happens after we die? All of these themes rotate rather simultaneously but the audience never knows which to focus on, or which to believe. This issue is the weakest point of the script and the subsequent film. We never understood the world where these stories were taking place. Goldsman described the genre as “magical realism” and explained that it is in fact a very “elusive genre,” although it was too obtuse, never providing the viewer with context, background or even enough sure footed emotions to be moved by the developing love story.
But despite the films almost too obvious failed adaptation, Goldsman and his impressive cast seem happy with it. Colin Farrell plays Peter Lake, a child born of immigrant parents who were denied admission to New York at Ellis Island. To provide the best life possible for their son, they sail him to the New York shore in a miniature model boat called “City of Justice.” After growing up an orphan, he becomes a successful thief. He soon attracts the notice of the neighborhood crime boss, Pearly Soames, who is played by Russell Crowe. Pearly is no ordinary bruiser. He is a demon and lives to destroy the miracles of human. Complete with a large facial scar, Crowe does his best to evoke a terrifying otherworldly presence, which leaves much to be desired and is downright out of place. In addition to the demonic Crowe, fans will also be treated to a cameo by Will Smith, who portrays a cool, calm and collected Lucifer, living in a warehouse in one of NYC's five boroughs. Soon after a sincere falling out with his former employer, which we never understand why, Lake decides to flee NYC and make a new life for himself. But Pearly and his gang catch up with him before his great escape. While being backed in to a corner; Lake discovers a beautiful white horse. The horse can fly, and aids his escape. We later learn that the beast, which Lake tenderly names “Horse” is a guardian angel, and Pearly has had enough of it. At one point Pearly kills a waiter, before his face explodes to reveal his true demonic features and then sketches an image of a red-headed female in his blood, this leads the hot-headed demon to believe that this red head will be the receiver of Peter Lake’s miracle. Therefore he must kill her and Lake.
Unknowing of Pearly’s demonic blood vision, Lake decides to rob one more house before fleeing with his new companion Horse. It is the beautiful home of Isaac Penn, who has gone to the lake early and left his daughter Beverly, who is dying of consumption, home alone. Lake enters the home easily intent on breaking into the safe and finds himself drawn immediately to the beautiful Beverly, played by Jessica Brown-Findlay. Over a cup of tea, the pair fall in love. Findlay admired her character for her ability to see past the initial meeting of him attempting to rob her family home. “Beverly can very quickly see that Peter is not a bad person, even if he does bad things. Besides, what can he do to her? She’s already dying. Not having any fear of death, I suppose, means most things don’t scare her in the way they probably should. She’s open enough to be warm, and not to tell him to leave, and very quickly their relationship blossoms, these romantic feelings really come out. I suppose she has no time to muck about it.” The developed love story between Peter and Beverly does happen quickly but you still believe, the pair’s portrayal of their lovesick and desperate characters does make you believe that these two people found each other for a reason, because they both need one another. Farell explains that the love between Peter and Beverly was fast paced by deep hearted and incredibly romantic, quite the hopeless romantic himself, Farell stated that their story was necessary in each of their lives, admitting that “love is the one thing that defines us as humans.”
After the love story of Beverly and Peter plays out, Peter Lake comes to in 2014 after bumping into a young girl in a New York City park, at this point Farell explains that his character is “consumed by loss and rather uncomfortable, but cannot remember why he feels such a loss.” Peter is suffering from extreme memory loss and only remembers his identity and the identity of his long lost love Beverly. After meeting Virginia Gamely, played by Jennifer Connelly and her daughter, who is terminally ill. Goldsman described Connelly’s character Virginia as “the character most like the rest of us, she is what keeps the movie in the real world.” However, it seems unlikely that the mother of a terminally ill daughter would ever entrust the life of her child to a man suffering from amnesia, whom she just met, that flies around NYC in 2014 on a white horse. But I guess that’s the magical part.
While the story left me scratching my head, there was some success in Goldsman adaptation. Filmed in all five boroughs of New York City, “Winter’s Tale” was a truly stunning piece of cinematography. Due to Beverly dying of consumption, she sleeps atop her family’s New York City mansion in an outdoor tent in order to stay cool at all times. The tent was one on the more fairy-like aspects of the film, with influences from Morocco, East Africa and Asia. However each piece was precisely set to the period. In addition to Beverly’s iconic tent, the film was filmed at notable historic New York locations. Producer Marc Platt observed, “what is so interesting and perhaps unique about New York is that there’s so much of it that existed in the early 20th Century and still exists today. The architecture, the parks, they’ve been witness to the journey of the city and the journey of the people in the city.” The film was a success visually, at all three periods in 1895, 1916 and 2014. The gorgeous cinematography is one of the film's strengths, and despite the era, the characters and NYC looks luminous and magical at all times.
While Goldsman describes the film as “a secret message for those who have experienced great loss in life, and are in desperate need for some unexpected magic,” the message was lost in an overacted performance from Crowe, who nearly garnered laughs from the audience, an underwhelming portrayal from Connelly, and an overall confusing story line. Despite the lack of emotional response I felt while watching “Winter’s Tale,” I applaud Goldsman in his unabashed love for fairytales, and his willingness to bring something beautiful into a city that has seen it’s fair share of tragic losses. So for those of you who are already predisposed to tears, the romantic gestures will certainly move you, and maybe if you need to believe again in a flying horse, fairy dust and the power of love, “Winter’s Tale” will provide you with an unexpected escape from reality.
“Winter’s Tale” premieres in theaters today, Feb. 14.
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