Haigh brings Tóibín’s novella to screen as family unravels in remote Colorado
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New details have emerged about the plot and cast of Andrew Haigh's "A Long Winter," his adaptation of Colm Tóibín's novella, revealing a story centred on a family's unravelling in 1950s rural Colorado. Fred Hechinger plays Mike, whose mother Louise (Caitríona Balfe) battles alcoholism and depression amid her husband Lester's (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) insistence on isolated farm life, while younger brother Tommy (Kit Connor) departs for the Korean War. When Louise vanishes into a snowstorm, a search involving family friends, state troopers and Louise's brother Jack (Martin Freeman) unfolds, forcing Mike to confront grief alongside a quietly emerging queer awakening.
The novella was first published in Tóibín's 2006 collection Mothers and Sons before being released as a standalone book last year, and Haigh has relocated its setting from the Spanish Pyrenees to the Rocky Mountains, echoing his earlier relocation of a Japanese novel to London for "All of Us Strangers". The cast also includes D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as family friend Joe, and Anthony Timpano as a young police officer who becomes the object of Mike's unspoken attraction. Reviewers continue to praise the film's restrained tone, immersive mountain setting and the performances of Hechinger and Moss-Bachrach, though some may find its slow-burn approach muted.
- New plot details reveal mother Louise disappears in a snowstorm
- Cast expanded: Balfe, Connor, Freeman, Garcia-Rulfo, Timpano confirmed
- Film explores Mike's quiet queer awakening amid family search and grief
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Louise, a wife and mother in 1950s rural Colorado, struggles with alcoholism and depression while her husband Lester keeps the family isolated on a remote farm. Their elder son Mike is quietly coming to terms with his own sexuality, while younger son Tommy has left home to fight in the Korean War. When Louise disappears in a snowstorm, a search brings in family friends, police and her brother Jack, and the fallout forces Mike to confront both grief and his own emerging identity.
The story comes from "A Long Winter," a film by director Andrew Haigh based on a novella by the Irish writer Colm Tóibín, which was first published in 2006 and reissued on its own last year. Haigh has moved the setting from the Pyrenees mountains in Spain to the Rocky Mountains in the United States, a similar approach to how he relocated a Japanese novel to London for his earlier film "All of Us Strangers."
The film features a notable cast, including Fred Hechinger, Caitríona Balfe, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kit Connor and Martin Freeman, alongside actors such as Manuel Garcia-Rulfo and Anthony Timpano. It has been generating attention ahead of release for its understated style and performances, making it one of the more closely watched literary adaptations coming to screen this year.
Coverage
- Variety — ‘A Long Winter’ Review: Andrew Haigh’s Moody Drama, Set on a Farm in the Rockies in the Early ’50s, Is a Sweeping Act of Cinematic Storytelling
- The Hollywood Reporter — ‘A Long Winter’ Review: Fred Hechinger and Ebon Moss-Bachrach Shine as Family Thrust Into Uneasy Isolation in Andrew Haigh’s Fine-Grained Drama