Winter's
End
DIR/WRI: Patrick Kenny • PROD: Damien
Donnelly • DOP: Robert Donald • ED: Kevin Hughes •
CAST: Michael Crowley, Jillian Bradbury, Paul Whyte, Adam Goodwin,
Donie Ryan.
Winter's End, the first feature from
writer/director Patrick Kenny, is something of an anomoly
for an Irish film. When the usual route of funding proved
unworkable, the filmmakers went out and shot the feature themselves;
a considerable investment of time and money with no guarantee
of an eventual payoff. It cost €18,000 to get Winter's
End as far as a rough-cut, then the Irish Film Board came
in with completeion funding of €30,000. The result is
the 98-minute feature which has screened at various festivals,
and is now available to buy online.
But, however important the conditions of a film's
production, what's really important is the film itself. Winter's
End is the story of Jack Davis (Adam Goodwin), a Dubliner
who is kidnapped by farmer Henry Rose (Michael Crowley) in
an unhinged bid to save his farm and continue his family line.
Henry's plans involve a shotgun wedding and a drastically
short honeymoon, but he hadn't counted on Jack's wiles and
his penchant for obscure Italian cuisine…
Most low-budget features being produced today
work within a specific genre with a well-defined market. But
Winter's End operates outside the familiar fields of
gore-heavy horror or intense psychological thriller. On paper
the plot sounds like Michael Haneke territory: Jack is kept
chained up in a barn and forced to consummate a sham marriage
with Henry's half-sister. But despite the grim nature of the
material, the film never leaves the viewer feeling really
uncomfortable.
Although there are slight irregularities in
the sound and the odd strangely-composed shot, Winter's
End seems a remarkably professional production. Michael
Crowley walks a careful line between sympathetic sadness and
psychosis in his portrayal of Henry, while Jill Bradbury evokes
the reticent charm of the innocent sister locked away from
the world.
As a self-made low-budget feature, Winter's
End is quite an achievement; it will be interesting to
see what the makers will achieve when they have a bigger budget
behind them.
Alan Keyes
Winter's
End is available on DVD from www.wintersend.net.
Read Nerea Aymerich's interview with writer/director
Patrick Kenny here.
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