Over the Christmas holidays in a small New England college town, a man and a woman share a brief interlude. He is there to visit his wife, who is a mental patient at the university, and she is there visiting her son, who is a student, after discovering her husband's infidelity.—[email protected]
[1st ever writing a synopsis; hope I don't screw up.] This is a gently philosophical film about the subject of marriage--the rigors of marriage in some ways, the meaning of marriage, and the trade-offs. The film was shot in Amherst, Massachusetts. The story moves slowly across the span of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Two strangers staying in an inn have come to the (unnamed) small town for disparate reasons and are each inwardly and silently struggling with their marriages. After several natural encounters in passing, they gradually get to know one another a bit but are reluctant and private about sharing personal information. Their background stories are told with flashbacks, especially John Sparrow's, whose wife is ill in a mental hospital. Katherine Johnson is there to visit a different hospital for her young son. During their time as hotel guests, a newlywed couple also arrives at the inn. A pivotal scene in the movie is a discussion by all four people (John Sparrow, Katherine Johnson and the young couple) about various views of marriage. The film addresses notions of fidelity, faithfulness and temptation. The "young" John Sparrow, in a flashback that occurs for only a minute or so, is played by Lloyd Bridge's real-life son Jeff Bridges. A youthful Cloris Leachman is also in this film as a somewhat overly-friendly, flirtatious local girl. It is a quiet drama, and the only occasion of singing for Shirley Jones is a group carol of Silent Night while riding in a car with 3 other people. The story's resolution is not unpleasant, but satisfying and logical.
