A New York Winter’s Tale (2014)
Certified: 12A
Duration: 118 minutes
Directed by: Akiva Goldsman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe, Mckayla Twiggs, Eva Marie Saint, Will Smith, William Hurt, Ripley Sobo
KRS release

Colin Farrell is Peter Lake, an orphan who has grown up on New York’s streets in the early 20th century. He wanted to be a mechanic but ended up becoming a thief in the service of Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe), an evil criminal boss.

Pearly and Peter eventually break off their relationship but Pearly, who is actually a demon in the service of Lucifer (Will Smith), is hot on Peter’s heels as he wants to stop him from performing a miracle.

Before escaping, Peter decides to carry out one final job.

In the house he breaks into he meets Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a young woman who is sick and dying.

The two end up falling in love and it is here that Pearly senses that the miracle may occur.

Pearly decides to kill Beverly but Peter ends up saving her on his white horse which has magical powers.

Beverly dies anyway and Peter ends up getting thrown off a bridge by Pearly and his goons. He survives and lives on for the next 98 years, but with no memory at all.

That is until he meets Virginia Gamely (Jennifer Connelly), a journalist who has a daughter who is terminally sick. He starts to rediscover his memory and when he meets Willa (Eva Marie Saint), who is Beverly’s grown-up sister, he realises that maybe he can still fulfil his destiny.

Mark Helprin’s 1983 novel, which I had read in my younger years, has become quite a literary hit.

It finally makes its way to the screen after various attempts to adapt it to the big screen failed.

Director Akiva Goldsman is better known for his scriptwriting, including winning an Oscar for his script for A Beautiful Mind. With Winter’s Tale, he must have known he was tackling a sprawling novel and thus took the brave decision of excising whole chunks of the book which would have necessitated a whole television series.

However, the director gives a whimsical and yet epic touch to the magical story, making it a very modern fantasy.

The film and its plot unfurl in a setting that is both industrial – in an almost Charles Dickens manner – and magical, giving the film a unique sheen.

The film’s trailer makes an emphasis on the romance but, in my opinion, the film’s real strength is in the way mysticism and magical realism are blended into the real world.

Thus factors such as someone living for nearly a century and magical horses all seem to be perfectly at home.

Crowe as Pearly is the film’s ace in the hole as he is allowed to play with his character at will. Brown Findlay from Downton Abbey brings a beautiful yet frail presence to the screen and it’s easy to see why Farrell remains so fixated on her. And Smith in a bit part is simply a hoot.

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