Movie Review - Winter's Tale

Winter's Tale (2014)

Starring Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Eva Marie Saint, and Will Smith 

Directed by Akiva Goldsman

Savaged by critics and ending up on many "Worst of 2014" lists, Winter's Tale doesn't quite reach levels of awful offensiveness in terms of how bad it is, but it certainly misses the mark as an adult morality tale/fairy tale/fantasy/romance.  As the film opens, we see a foreign couple in the early 1900s being refused entrance into the United States because they have consumption.  Sent back to Europe on a boat, they leave their infant son behind in hopes that he'll have a better life.  The son grows up to be Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) who was raised on the rough New York City streets by Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe) and the two men couldn't be more different.  Despite rather oddly burying this lede and causing a bit of unnecessary confusion in the film's opening scenes, Pearly works for the Devil, while Peter is a bit more angelic and apparently has been granted the ability to truly help one person in his lifetime.  As Peter ages, this sets up conflict and Pearly sets out to take down the man whom he hoped at one time would be his successor.  This battle between good and evil is set against the backdrop of romance as Peter falls for Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay), a rich young woman who is dying of consumption.  And I haven't even begun to discuss the time jump that a little over halfway through the film moves the plot into modern times nor the mystical white horse that sprouts wings and saves the day multiple times.

There's simply too much going on in Winter's Tale to allow an audience to appreciate any aspect of it.   Based on a book that has had praise heaped upon it, I have to wonder if the fantastical meanderings work better on the page than played out visually on the screen.  This is Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman's first feature film directorial gig and he can't formulate a singular vision here which is perhaps due to the fact that his screenplay feels haphazardly crafted.  The acting is okay, but that's admittedly faint praise.  Crowe is hamming it up at times although not necessarily in an awkward way as he is essentially playing an employee of the devil.  Farrell is fine, although he's a bit of a blank slate in some of the film's pivotal moments.  The rest of the cast makes do with what's given to them.

While Winter's Tale certainly isn't the worst film I've seen from 2014, it certainly isn't a winner by any means.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+