The book on which this film is based is 748 pages long. So having a film that’s over two hours isn’t that bad a thing when you’re dealing with that much source material. Or at least it shouldn’t be. Winter’s Tale is a fascinating fairy tale love story (heavy emphasis on the fairy tale), with a healthy dose of Good vs. Evil thrown in. But in it’s attempt to cover that much ground, Winter’s Tale gets viewers both bogged down in minutiae and whisked ahead at a pace so breakneck that it’s difficult to keep up with what the film is trying to convey.
And there’s a lot to convey in Winter’s Tale. That it’s a love story between streetwise thief Peter (Colin Farrell) and dying Beverly (Jessica Brown Findlay, Downton Abbey’s Lady Sybil) is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s the neverending battle between Good and Evil (or is that Order and Chaos?), miracles, time travel, adorable kids, and a horse that is much more than just a horse. Got all that? Well, that’s probably because you’ve read the book. I hadn’t, and decided to go in with a blank slate. And I can tell you that if you’re wondering if this story will make sense to folks who haven’t read the book…well, it doesn’t. If you’re wondering if that matters? Well, it doesn’t. At least not if you’re looking for nothing more than a sweet tale in a beautiful setting. Folks searching for cohesion or an easy-to-follow narrative are best left to search elsewhere.
