chilly scenes of winter

Shot in 1978 in Salt Lake City, Utah, Chilly Scenes of Winter not only shares a birthday with Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival, it also exemplifies the festival's independent-minded approach to storytelling, warts and all. There's something not quite "normal" in this romantic comedy about a civil servant, Charles (John Heard), who falls hard for Laura (Mary Beth Hurt), a spunky temp recently separated from her husband. The fact is, director Joan Micklin Silver's film isn't a romantic comedy at all. But by the time Laura (and the audience) finds out, it's too late to turn the ship around.

The film actually kicks off in fantasy / flashback mode with Charles mourning his ruined relationship and carrying on conversations with an imaginary Laura, who's returned to her husband. A cast of quirky characters provides moral support: Sam (Peter Riegert), his perpetually unemployed best friend, Clara (Gloria Grahame), his mentally unstable mother, and Pete (Kenneth McMillan), his clingy but well-meaning stepfather. But they're all just distractions to Charles, whose life has revolved around Laura since the first day they met.

Their relationship starts off strong. Laura enjoys the extra attention (her husband, "Ox," is physically and emotionally unavailable) and agrees to move in with Charles after only a few dates. But cracks in the foundation begin to show even quicker. Charles smothers her with affection, demanding an accounting of every minute they're apart. What began as infatuation turns quickly into jealousy, threats and full-blown stalker behavior. Does Charles love too much...or does Laura love too little?

Originally released in 1979 as Head Over Heels (with a accompanying wacky poster), the film ended with an upbeat coda that seemed to satisfy audience demands. Only it didn't. The film quickly disappeared and sunk into obscurity. But producers Mark Metcalf, Amy Robinson and Griffin Dunne (who makes a small cameo) re-released the film under its original title, matching the Ann Beattie source novel, and chopped off the happy ending. The response from critics was much improved and Chilly Scenes of Winter wound up making back its investment in a rare case of retooling that actually worked.

That's not to say that the film is worth so much attention. It suffers from a classic case of the "quirks," overflowing with characters desperate for attention and abused for a quick laugh. It's a formula that independent cinema still leans on as a creative crutch. But as the story progresses and Charles' psychological issues become more obvious, Chilly Scenes of Winter turns into a fascinating - and frightening - tale of fatal attraction filtered through an unfortunately innocuous lens. Even with a terrific cast to work with, Silver's film lacks the courage of its convictions, falling back on shopworn "will-they-or-won't-they" staples set a set to a smooth jazz saxophone score. There's a much darker and honest movie in here somewhere; the fun part is watching how much manages to squeak out.

Twilight Time's 3000-copy limited edition Blu-ray is an SLC snowglobe of drifting flakes and bland interiors. While the visual palette is intentionally muted, the transfer is razor sharp. Special features include an isolated music track, trailer, liner notes and spot-on commentary track with Silver and producer Amy Robinson who provide a good accounting of their creative intentions, roadblocks and casting decisions.