"Stella and Gerry might not have a bad marriage, but they don't have an especially healthy one either. In the new film Midwinter Break, these two Irish empty nesters beautifully portrayed by Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds have become the embodiment of the words "alone together" in their late 60s and early 70s. She goes to church. He reads, and drinks, and passes out on the recliner. Repeat."
"One of the loveliest things about Midwinter Break is how it lets Stella and Gerry be all things at once. In some moments, they're loving and intimate, sharing a sweet before their flight takes off, laughing in the red-light district and resting their tired feet in their nice hotel room. Other times, they seem like strangers. Stella has only grown more devout as they've gotten older, while Gerry can't be bothered to even accompany her to church."
"This is a relationship that's all about the small moments and what's left unsaid, which is tricky to compellingly execute on film. There aren't big fights or particularly mean words said: And yet when Stella, nearly shaking with nerves, quietly proposes a possible change to their lives, it feels earth shattering. You're relieved later when she wants to go out and have some fun; Gerry is too."
Midwinter Break follows Stella and Gerry, an Irish empty-nester couple in their late 60s and early 70s whose marriage is stable but emotionally distant. Stella's religiosity and Gerry's detached routines create a pattern of parallel lives marked by small domestic rhythms. The film dwells on quiet contradictions: moments of tenderness, laughter and intimacy sit beside estrangement and unspoken desires. A subdued narrative avoids grand confrontations, instead making a softly staged proposal and subtle shifts feel seismic. Strong performances by Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds reveal nuanced chemistry. Directed by Polly Findlay in her feature debut, the film uses delicate, minor-key restraint.
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