The Winter Guest DVD, 1997

Alan Rickman directs and co-writes this bittersweet drama, which pairs real-life mother and daughter Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson. Following the death of her husband, Frances (Thompson) meets with her mother (Law) in a Scottish seaside town. As they attempt to repair their own, damaged relationship, their lives become linked to those of two young boys, a teenage couple, and a pair of elderly women whose sole pleasure in life is attending funerals.

The lives and relationships of four couples, based around a Scottish seaside town in the icy depths of winter. Confident, sensitively directed debut from Rickman, who ... more >

The lives and relationships of four couples, based around a Scottish seaside town in the icy depths of winter. Confident, sensitively directed debut from Rickman, who also co-scripted with playwright Sharman MacDonald, the film retains Phyllida Law as the meddling Elspeth from the stage version, and adds her real-life daughter Thompson as the grieving daughter with whom she attempts to repair a relationship gone sour. The harsh winter landscape is beautifully photographed and the cast is uniformly excellent. < less

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