Winter's Tale (2014) * * *

Winter's Tale succeeds in large part due to the conviction of the actors and also because it is surprisingly touching.    Does it make perfect sense?   No, but it is a film which caters to the heart more than to logic.   The two naturally rarely coincide.

The film opens in today's New York.   A young man named Peter (Farrell) sneaks up to a room above Union Station and locates the belongings of a baby who lived a long time ago.    Who is the child?   What significance does the child have to Peter?   We then flash back to 1895, when the child was left up to adoption by her immigrant parents who were disallowed entry in the US due to pulmonary disease.    The child is raised by rich Isaac Penn (Hurt), who fears for her health because she is a sickly child who grows to be a sickly, but beautiful adult.  

The woman, named Beverly (Findlay), grows to be a beautiful young woman dying from tuberculosis who meets Peter in a curious way.    He attempts to rob her home, but stumbles across her and winds up having tea and talking with her.    They fall in love instantly, causing Peter to leave his boss Pearlie (Crowe), a nasty guy who is also a demon employed by Lucifer.

While Pearlie searches for Peter seeking revenge, Beverly dies after making love to Peter, yet Peter lives on despite Pearlie throwing him into the East River and leaving him for dead.    Peter not only lives on, he doesn't age a day.   Why?    I won't spoil too much, but suffice it to say, he has unfinished business on Earth, involving miracles and saving a redheaded stepchild. 

The plot is, by its nature, pure fantasy and thus we allow a little leeway to let it unfold.    Farrell approaches Winter's Tale as the epitome of earnestness and love.    He is a capable romantic lead.    Crowe looks menacing it every scene he is in.    His scenes with an unbilled Will Smith (who plays his underworld boss I suppose) somehow descend into near-comedy.    They play awkwardly, so thank goodness there are only two of them.  

Once all of the subplots and mysteries are sorted out, Winter's Tale ends satisfyingly enough with a moving score that helps us buy into this unabashedly fantasical film.    Winter's Tale understands the notion that there are people out there who simply don't mind suspending disbelief (in this film, you have to suspend a lot of it) to see a romance which defies time itself.    I especially enjoyed the scene where Peter reunites with Beverly's sister, played by Eva Marie-Saint and herself must be well over 120 years old.   Yet, she runs the New York Sun.   And I thought a flying horse and ghastly demons would be the only disbelief I would have to leave at the door.

Starring:  Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Eva Marie-Saint