“To you and me,”

“To me and you”.

Such is the toast shared by Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciarán Hinds), a dedication to their marriage.  From the outside, a sweet moment by a couple seemingly devoted to one another.  In reality, the toast is one full of doubt, as if they’re questioning their love. It’s as the couple’s past threatens to create a rift impossible to repair.

Based on the 2017 novel by Bernard McLaverty, Midwinter Break follows Stella and Gerry as they take a trip to Amsterdam.  It’s a chance for these empty nesters to reconnect. At first they appear to revive their relationship. They feel the kind of closeness that happens on vacation when the disappearance of everyday stressors accompanies an exciting change of scenery.  But their tenderness with one another soon fades, and it seems as if Stella may have had an ulterior motive in selecting this location for their ‘adventure.’

The screenplay by McLaverty and Nick Payne (We Live in Time) is terse.  Almost to a fault.  For how long can you watch two people who have spent decades not communicating, continue not talking to one another?  The answer in this case is about 90 minutes.  Midwinter Break revolves around the unspoken, but at times you yearn for more words, for someone to break the silence.

It’s here where you appreciate the work Oscar nominated actors Manville (Phantom Thread) and Hinds (Belfast) actually put into their performances.  In lesser hands, the nuance required to portray these characters, and their complicated relationship, might have been lost.  But place your trust in Manville and Hinds and you will find the beauty in this character piece.  Body language, glances, facial expressions are everything here, and there’s some peace to be found in watching two actors of this caliber embrace the unsaid.

If you’ve seen the trailer for this movie, Midwinter Break really seems to build up to a mystery.  There is mention of something that Stella did a long time ago, a ‘price to be paid’.  The pieces are easy enough to put together quite quickly, even for someone who hasn’t read the book, but it’s less mysterious and thrilling than the editing of the trailer would have you believe.  That foreshadowed event does however lead to a broader issue of spirituality that is dividing the couple.  Stella found God in what happened, whereas Gerry cannot understand the spiritual, unless you count his love of whiskey.

The religious divide between this couple is an interesting concept, one that perhaps could have been even more effective had more debate between the couple been witnessed.  Stella is in the midst of an existential crisis, Gerry has no motivation to search for life’s greater meaning, even dismissing and belittling his wife’s devout nature.  With such differing life views, one wonders if they can ever find their way back to one another.  It’s a concept that is so beautifully introduced, and yet not fully developed.

Director Polly Findlay previously directed National Theatre Live productions like Treasure Island and As You Like It. And it seems to relish getting off the stage and into the streets of Amsterdam.  Midwinter Break does sometimes play a bit like a travelogue, but I give the director a bit of grace since its their first narrative feature, and Amsterdam is a beautiful palette from which to paint.  You’ll yearn to travel there, at least a little bit.

Findlay also has no issue giving Manville and Hinds the space and time to feel what they need to feel.  Again, almost to a fault.  How much the audience feels will remain to be seen. Midwinter Break is the kind of emotionally intelligent, quiet drama that rarely gets made for the big screen anymore.  It skips the melodrama.  The emotional climax of the film even occurs in hushed tones in an airport.  There will be those that will find Midwinter Break too slow, but for those who can relate, and can key into its lead performances, those people will find a poignancy.