Story
Winter’s Tale is a romantic drama that takes place across two different time zones: 1916 and present-day Manhattan. It follows the journey of Peter Lake (Colin Farrell), a skilful thief who falls out of favour with his old boss, Pearly Soames (Russell Crowe), for not using the violent methods Pearly has taught him. Pearly is a demonic creature in human form. He works for Lucifer (Will Smith) to prevent miracles from happening on earth, destroying happiness and hope whenever he can.While Peter is preparing to leave New York to escape Pearly and his henchmen, fate leads him to a beautiful young woman named Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay). Beverly is dying of tuberculosis, but she and Peter fall madly in love with each other. Although they manage to hide from Pearly for a while, he eventually catches up with them, poisoning and murdering Beverly. Then Pearly captures and apparently kills the distraught Peter.Peter wakes up decades later in modern-day New York, without any recollection of his identity or how he came to be there. As snippets of memories come back to Peter, he comes to realise that the miracle he was destined to be part of was not to save Beverly. Rather, she was his miracle. She allowed him to survive through the power of her love, giving him the chance to save a young girl dying of cancer in contemporary New York.
Themes
Terminal illness; good versus evil; destiny; miracles and magic
Violence
There is some violence in Winter’s Tale. For example:
Sexual references
None of concern
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
Winter’s Tale shows minimal use of substances. For example:
- Peter and Isaac Penn, Beverly’s father, discuss having wine with their dinner.
- Characters drink in a bar.
Nudity and sexual activity
Winter’s Tale has minimal nudity and sexual activity. In one example, Peter watches Beverly in her tent as she gets changed into her nightgown – her silhouette is shown. She comes outside and notices Peter, turns her back and allows her robe to fall, heading back inside. Peter goes up to the tent to meet her, where they kiss and then make love. Only their unclothed backs are shown.
Product placement
None of concern
Coarse language
Winter’s Tale has minimal coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Based on a novel, Winter’s Tale is a heartwarming story about destiny, magic and love.
The movie focuses on the idea that all humans are part of a larger plan. Each person carries a miracle and has a unique purpose to fulfil. No one life is more important than another. The movie also emphasises the power of love, the devastation of illness, and the ability of one person to conquer evil with determination and courage.
Older teenagers are likely to enjoy Winter’s Tale, but it has violent and scary scenes and themes that are likely to disturb children under 13 years and some slightly older children.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include:
- personal sacrifice and the importance of doing what is best for your family
- love and relationships – how love can change a person’s values and approach to life, and how love can help to save people.
You might also want to talk with your children about the effects of long-term and terminal illnesses on people and also on their family and friends.