Winter Passing

It’s all pretty routine. The daughter of two famous writers returns home to have it out with her neglectful father after her neglectful mother hangs herself. Ed Harris is an alcoholic, wasting away in the garage behind a country house, more or less unable to write anymore. Will Farrell has moved in as a sort of caretaker, along with Amelia Warner, a former writing student. The daughter, Zooey Deschanel, comes to a sort of peace with the old man. It edges up to being humorous without ever actually being funny, and it’s pretty slow. Some may like this, but I found it only marginal. I’ve always found Deschanel fascinating to watch, and she is here, too. I wish the material had been a little better, because she almost makes it all work.