137. Winterlong; movie review

WINTERLONG
Cert 15
94 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language, brief bloody images

Isn't it rather splendid to see a healthy number of low-budget British cinema releases which are both original and engaging!
The latest on a growing list is David Jackson's Winterlong which was shot in an around the Sussex coastal town of Hastings.
It stars Francis Magee whose character, Francis, lives on the margins of society in a tumbledown shack and hunts for food with illegal arms hidden in a forest.
His very individual existence is turned upside down when his former love declares she is getting married and tells him he is going to have to look after their son (Harper Jackson) whom he has never known.
Inevitably, it is an uneasy relationship at the outset with the teenager feeling abandoned by his mother as well as uncomfortable with his new surroundings.
However, a warmth grows, fuelled by the common sense of Francis's much younger girlfriend (Carole Weyers), a singer in a touring band.
Nevertheless, life is far from easy and he finds that looking after a son means he has to play the game with an establishment he has spent his life avoiding.
Jackson, who also wrote Winterlong, has done a great job of creating characters who draw empathy despite, in Francis's case, being outside of society's norms.
The relationship which he develops with his son is difficult but heartwarming.
Their problem is that either people or society's rules prove to be a barrier to them understanding each other.
It would be fair to say that Winterlong is not high on action but I found it engaging, well-constructed and believable.
I think many of us would be surprised as to how many people live like Francis nowadays.

Reasons to watch: Unusual but engaging drama
Reasons to avoid: Not high on action

Laughs: A few chuckles
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? The Government estimates that around 85,000 households live in mobile homes on 2,000 sites in England.

The final word. David Jackson: I don’t see Winterlong as belonging to the category of grim social realism – I don’t have an axe to grind as a filmmaker. What I do have, though, is an interest in opening up the spaces of the more ordinary aspects of our lives. "

Share this post