By John Corrado
Filmmaker Andrew Haigh follows up his beloved 2023 film All Of Us Strangers with A Long Winter, a haunting, beautifully shot slow-burn character drama about families and gender roles that is itself sort of a ghost story.
The film is set in rural Colorado, where Mike (Fred Hechinger) lives with his family; father Lester (Econ Moss-Bachrach), mother Louise (Caitríona Balfe), and brother Tommy (Kit Connor). Mike is a young man, just starting to explore parts of himself. Then his mother disappears in the middle of a blizzard, her disappearance leaving a hole in their lives that shows the impact of how much of herself she gave in holding the family together.
Lester struggles to adapt to not having his wife around, not wanting to do the cooking and cleaning for himself. Mike continues searching for his mom, his long walks in the snow taking on a lyrical quality; is he chasing a ghost? The film, which Haigh adapted from a short story by Irish author Colm Tóibín, patiently takes its time at two hours, but this length and slow-burning pace is intentional.
This is a different film from the immediately impactful All of Us Strangers, and the pacing won’t work for everyone. But A Long Winter is a strong addition to Haigh’s body of work. The deeper themes about Mike’s emerging homosexuality, shown in glances of desire, are in keeping with the explorations of queerness that he has been developing since his essential 2011 breakout film Weekend.
Haigh’s latest film is defined by André Turpin’s stunning winter cinematography, doing an exceptional job of capturing the vastness and beauty but also isolation of the Canadian Rockies where the film was shot, standing in for the mountains of Colorado. The intimate moments within the family cabin are also beautifully lit, with an evocative quality to all of the images here, from how he frames landscapes to faces.
Hechinger, usually a supporting or comic presence, really impresses in a dramatic leading role, with his sensitive portrayal of Mike carrying the film, especially in quiet moments when he searches the wilderness for his mother. Moss-Bachrach is very solid as the tough dad, and Irish actress Balfe leaves her mark despite limited screen time. Fitting, since the outsized role that this matriarch played in all of their lives is a key theme of the film, through to the haunting final moments.
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