The Winter Guest
The Winter Guest is a 1997 British drama film directed by Alan Rickman in his first feature directing job. It stars Phyllida Law and Emma Thompson and is based on a play by Sharman Macdonald.
The story takes place in a snowy Scottish town on one day and follows eight people: Elspeth (the mother) and her daughter Frances; two young boys, Sam and Tom; two elderly women, Chloe and Lily; and two teenagers, Nita and Alex. The film is mainly about the conversations and interactions between these characters.
The film is based on Sharman Macdonald’s stage play, which premiered in 1995 and later ran at the Almeida Theatre in London. Alan Rickman directed both the stage version and this film. Filming occurred around Pittenweem, Elie, Earlsferry and Crail in Fife, Scotland.
Release and reception: The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival on 28 August 1997, with US release on 24 December 1997 and UK release on 9 January 1998. Run time is 108 minutes. Language is English.
Cast includes Phyllida Law as Elspeth, Emma Thompson as Frances, Sheila Reid as Lily, Sandra Voe as Chloe, Arlene Cockburn as Nita, Gary Hollywood as Alex, Sean Biggerstaff as Sam, and Douglas Murphy as Tom.
Production and box office: Produced by Capitol Films and distributed by FilmFour Distributors. Worldwide box office was about $1.3 million, with UK gross around £250,689.
Reception: Critics welcomed the film, and Thompson won an award at Venice. It holds a 63% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 27 reviews (average 6.5/10).
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 14:08 (CET).