Winter Solstice (2004)

60% of critics liked it
(80 reviews)
43% of users liked it
(1,428 ratings)

A family struggles to come to terms with changes after a death in the family in this independent drama. Jim Winters (Anthony LaPaglia) is a widower living in suburban New Jersey with his two teenage sons, Gabe (Aaron Stanford) and Pete (Mark Webber). Pete, the younger of the siblings, has a hearing… More A family struggles to come to terms with changes after a death in the family in this independent drama. Jim Winters (Anthony LaPaglia) is a widower living in suburban New Jersey with his two teenage sons, Gabe (Aaron Stanford) and Pete (Mark Webber). Pete, the younger of the siblings, has a hearing problem that has made school difficult for him; consequently, he has lost interest in his education and spends most of his time goofing off. Gabe is smarter and more ambitious, and has a stable relationship with his girlfriend, Stacey (Michelle Monaghan), but is beginning to chafe at the limitations of small-town life. And five years after his wife's death, Jim still hasn't been able to pick up and start his life over again. When Gabe announces he's decided to move to Florida, it has differing effects on those around him -- Stacey, hurt and confused, begins to withdraw; Pete strikes up a friendship with one of his teachers (Ron Livingston); and Jim struggles to work up the nerve to talk to his new neighbor, Molly Ripkin (Allison Janney. Winter Solstice was the first feature film from writer and director Josh Sternfeld; it won enthusiastic notices following its screenings at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 33 min.
Directed By: Josh Sternfeld
Written By: Josh Sternfeld
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Apr 8, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Sep 13, 2005
Studio: Paramount Classics

Critic Reviews

Janice Page, Boston Globe
Ultimately undercut by its fictional elements and its flat characters.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
This movie deserves to be seen -- and learned from. It captures the moments in which each of us stares out across an emptiness, searching for a connection that will keep us from falling.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
It's the kind of narrow-gauged drama that either will drive you crazy or absorb you in its low-key rhythms. Mostly, I went along for the ride.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
It has everything an indie film could desire -- except for a compelling plot or dramatic tension.
Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News
In an impressive feature debut, director-screenwriter Josh Sternfeld takes an observant, nuanced look at human behavior.
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
The performances are excellent...
Bruce Feld, Film Journal International
Audiences may not get too excited about devastated people who conduct their social lives at the local Dairy Queen.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
Winter Solstice is an intense drama and all the action is internal. LaPaglia is such a fine actor and every nuance of his bottled up Jim comes through, as he struggles to not only be a good father, but to find a direction in his own life.
Rory L. Aronsky, Film Threat
Winter Solstice thrives solely on how much understatement you can actually handle in a movie.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...a gem...
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
Something that's increasingly rare: a stringently subtextual drama....when they finally arrive, the epiphanies are small ones.
Larry Ratliff, San Antonio Express-News
Solstice offers solace. It is quiet, understated and powerful as a single chapter in several changing lives.
Joshua Tanzer, Offoffoff
Sternfeld started with well-conceived characters and simply didn't succeed in making them flesh. These people have traits instead of personalities; goals instead of dreams.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Curtis L

Not very exciting, but a pretty accurate depiction of what a real persons life is like. And as such there was really no plot, or climax, or ending. Still somehow it wasn't boring, so they did something right.
Red L

Story about dealing with a loss in the family and the difficulties of parents understanding teens and vice versa. There is a certain slowness or lulling rhythm to the film
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", Jim Winters(Anthony LaPaglia) is a single father who owns his own landscaping business in a small town. His eldest son, Gabe(Aaron Stanford), works in a restaurant pretty much non-stop in an effort to save up as much money as he… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", Jim Winters(Anthony LaPaglia) is a single father who owns his own landscaping business in a small town. His eldest son, Gabe(Aaron Stanford), works in a restaurant pretty much non-stop in an effort to save up as much money as he can before leaving for Tampa to work on a boat. In the process he would leave his loving girlfriend, Stacey(Michelle Monaghan), behind. Gabe's younger brother, Pete(Mark Webber), sporting an unfashionable looking hearing aid, is on the ten-year plan in high school and is set to go to summer school. Molly Ripken(Alison Janney) is a housesitter that moves in nearby...[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]In "Winter Solstice", not much happens.(I do not mind if a movie is slow, just as long as it is headed somewhere.) I know that in real life people are more likely to be hanging out at the local Dariy Queen than having life-changing events, but it does not make for compelling drama.[/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]All of which is a shame because the movie wastes a fine cast including Anthony LaPaglia. Michelle Monaghan and Alison Janney brighten whatever room they are in. And Ron Livingston almost steals the movie playing a history teacher.[/font]
Leo L

A great film! Very touching story about a widower and his two sons, and the struggle to have to overcome to get over the death of a wife and mother.