EARLY WINTER (2015) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Michael Rowe

Written by - Michael Rowe

Starring - Suzanne Clément, Paul Doucet

"A powerful and brutally honest portrayal of a married couple who are kept together by committment rather than passion or love. Its stark realism is defined by unceremonious and repetitive sequences marked by a deafening silence between husband and wife, whose conversations are predictable and always seem to conceal a sense of bitterness. 

MICHAEL ROWE's EARLY WINTER is a film that is as cold as the title implies, as well as purposefully awkward and uncomfortable. This is conveyed by the lengthy one shot sequences, out of which the tension between the two central characters becomes evident, as well as their growing resentment for one another, and the selfishness of their suspicions and jealousies. 

Further strengthening the engulfing atmosphere are the performances by PAUL DOUCET and SUZANNE CLEMENT, in their roles that required them to completely ignore the camera so as to achieve as realistic a portrayal of the lives of their respective characters as possible, and it is also because of that that EARLY WINTER is ultimately a successful and haunting representation of loveless marriage."

Drama, Canada/Australia