Don't listen to the negative reviews

Blistering performances.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

"Winter Solstice" is a gem. Its great strength is its acting and characterizations. And it almost never gives in to its audience. Nor to the usual guy film boilerplate.LaPaglia and Janney are up to their usual high standards, but what amazes is that the two sons are remarkably up to their level. They are outright convincing both as individuals and as brothers. And are no more self-conscious, or less in control of their roles than the two leads. If anything, Aaron Stanford as Gabe may have almost stolen center stage.But no worry because the acting, the script, the direction seem to conspire against stardom and showing off. Low key is the intent and no manipulation is in order. The only reservation I have is the touch of romance between Jim and Molly. It may be argued that this is who they are, but I think that the movie's context and content, or the movie taken as a whole, insists on friendship and mutual support--and no more.Finally, this is chiefly a male movie. But to its great credit it never hints at male bonding nor aligns itself with male socialization. Every attempt by the father to assert his role is easily foiled by his peer sons, and every time father and sons act in the male mode, they are quick to relent. The father no more runs his family than does a single parent mother, although like them, he may occasionally try. In short, all the societal and peer pressures are present in this film, but male bonding or male authority are never shown to be a viable responses--not for the father, not for the sons, nor for the other guys that inhabit their world.

This is one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I only continued watching it because I was sure it would get to the point. It never did. Its pace is glacial with no apparent redeeming qualities. This is the first review I have written and if it keeps one person from enduring what I did, then I will know my life was not wasted.This is still one of the most boring movies I have ever seen. I only continued watching it because I was sure it would get to the point. It never did. Its pace is glacial with no apparent redeeming qualities. This is the first review I have written and if it keeps one person from enduring what I did, then I will know my life was not wasted.

These kind of movies have become an indie cliché, except for the part about the family living in an upper-middle class neighborhood and the father being some kind of high-status white-collared employee in an advertising agency or something. But essentially, the relationships (which I am skeptical of as being written by someone who does not have teenage children) and the manner of execution right down to the dramatic sequences backed by guitar instrumental tracks, are all so clichéd. Most of the scenes seem to hardly make much sense, their purpose questionable to the overall film. And, for crying out loud, the characters take so damn long to say something, and when they do, it is still very little.Anthony LaPaglia plays a father of two boys. His wife died in an accident five years earlier and essentially, the movie is just about his relationship with his boys as they struggle to move on...I guess. None of them really look like they're clinging to anything or having any trouble, except for the boredom of their dreary (Canadian?) small town. LaPaglia's new neighbor (played by Allison Janey, perhaps the only spotlight on this entire bore-fest) is also his soon-to-be-love interest.These kind of independent movies have become a dime a dozen. And this one in particular is amazingly boring (thanks to the lack of realistic dialog and even less realistic relationships among nearly all of the characters in the film...do the filmmakers just assume that all of humanity is afraid to converse with itself?). Of the thousands of these kind of awkward family bonding dramas that have been produced for the indie sphere in the last two or three years alone, this one is far from anything memorable. I just wish independent filmmakers would stop being so clichéd. Leave that to Hollywood mainstream...we look to you guys as an alternative to the crap they're producing.

Winter Solstice tries hard. It really does.It pretends to be a "meditation" on family life, but it fails miserably...what it offers is 90 minutes worth of poorly scripted and shabbily edited material (if you do see this film, check out the boom microphones floating at the top of the screen...I laughed out loud: it was awesome!) The actors did a great job considering the lack of material they had to work with; unfortunately, they could do no better than trudge through a painfully shallow storyline, which, for even the most patient film viewer, is SUPER FRUSTRATING.Save your cash and scold your local theatre houses for charging people to see this rubbish. Shame on them!