Bleak Winter
All premise, no story, in 'Winter Solstice'

Earnest good intentions clog every frame of this small-scale father-and-sons family drama. The characters are life-sized, the actors are likeable in the roles, and the setting—a green, leafy New Jersey suburb of rambling old houses and broad lawns—is very appealing. Too bad, then, that writer-director Josh Sternfeld comes up with so little that's either interesting or moving in the thin story he makes from these components. It's by-the-book all the way, with a few pages missing.

The always enjoyable Anthony LaPaglia (looking beefy and shambling) stars as Jim Winters, a recent widower with his own landscaping business, trying to bring up two teenage sons on his own. Gabe (Aaron Stanford), out of school and working extra shifts at the grocery store, is itching to move to Florida. Kid brother Pete (Mark Webber) is brainy enough, but such a goof-off he may not finish high school. New neighbor Molly (Allison Janney) moves in down the street to house-sit for friends; a paralegal "between jobs" who "just needed a change," she and Jim are similarly adrift in the circumstances of their lives.

This is not just the premise, it's the entire plot of this movie in which nothing happens. Scenes are set up to frame meaningless action, or conversations so laconic, no important information is conveyed. Lip service is paid to the absent Winters wife/mother, but the movie never feels haunted by her absence; the Winters men don't seem distracted by grief, they're just clueless. Sternfeld neglects to give Gabe any particular passion or motive for his desire to leave. "I can't get anything started here," he says, but we've no idea what he's trying to start, or why it compels him to leave a lovely, supportive girlfriend behind. Sparse encounters between Pete and his remedial summer school teacher (Ron Livingston) seem to be building to a payoff that never quite occurs.

Incidental details are often weirdly off-base. Molly moves in all her worldly possessions in boxes to house-sit for three months, while Gabe packs up every single item—every book, every stitch of clothing—leaving his childhood bedroom entirely empty. It's as if Sternfeld was so busy trying to create mood and metaphor, he forgot to write a story.

WINTER SOLSTICE With Anthony LaPaglia, Aaron Stanford, and Allison Janney. Written and directed by Josh Sternfeld. (R) 90 minutes. (**)
Review published in Good Times, May 19, 2005