Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979)

You won't be disappointed!

To me, this movie is perfection.

Fresh and Exciting

The acting in this movie is really good.

more aptly describes this gem of a movie. Not on cable as much as lesser films, unfortunately.John Heard is excellent as the unrequited lover, pursuing Laura, a woman in a mediocre marriage, on-again off-again.What is nice about this film is it sort of imitates life: things happen for no reason, odd characters (Gloria Grahame as mom is very good) People with their own quirks and problems. This was filmed in Salt Lake City Utah, and gives us a nice backdrop of emotion, estranged relationships, hopes for the future.Peter Riegert (amusing as the unemployed jacket salesman with a physics background). John Heard is quirky and sympathetic at his office job, where he pours a cup of vodka for himself, trying to figure out how to win Laura back. Mary Beth Hurt is also believable, as a confused woman on the fence about her marriage to an A-frame salesman named "Ox".Joan Micklin Silver is to be commended for her direction in this film. Oddly, I also reviewed an LMN movie she directed, "Hunger Point" with Barbara Hershey. I enjoyed that film. The director seemed to add touches of humanity into that film as well. "Chilly Scenes of Winter" is not to be missed, a nice human film which anyone who has wondered why they can't just have a "normal life", will relate to and enjoy. 9/10.

I couldn't find this anywhere to rent, so I bought it. I wasn't going to MAKE myself like it, just because of John Heard, but I actually turned out to love it. It took another watching to really like it though. It's not that exciting, it's laid back. The plot isn't really unique, but Heard does GREAT with the role. I think it's his best to date. The movie is cute, but serious at the same time. I'm now convinced, that if he was young today, he'd be as popular (should be more) than people like Tom Cruise. He had it all! Mary Beth Hurt was good in the other role, too. Well, good movie, it's not for everyone though. 8/10.

The pivot on which this story turns is Laura's character; unfortunately, that character is drawn less thoroughly than one might wish. How are we to understand her vacillations? (We have to guess, because the picture doesn't explain them, and she herself is apparently unable to explain them.) Saying that she is confused by her choices tells us nothing worthwhile about her character. Does she - out of a sense of guilt - feel compelled to draw away whenever her lover draws nearer? An interesting enough concept, but it isn't brought out in the film, so such an interpretation is no more than speculation. If Laura's attachment to her daughter is so strong, how was she able to walk away? (There is, by the way, little in the film itself to suggest that the two were especially close.) As for the men in her life: her husband seems no better or worse than average, and her lover - except for his persistence - also seems unremarkable. As for the ending: the one in the version I saw (running, running, running faster in the park) is no ending at all. It just happens to be the last scene of the picture.

Loved it as Head Over Heels, liked it even more with the ending changed to conform to Beattie's novel. It's a thoughtful and quirky picture; Gloria Grahame's performance is worth the rental. Silver's ensemble comedy Between the Lines is well worth looking for also.