Lesley Manville to Lead Exclusive Midwinter Break Screening Ahead of New Film’s Theatrical Debut
An exclusive preview screening of Midwinter Break will take place on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, offering an early look at a 90-minute drama anchored by lesley manville and Ciarán Hinds. The screening matters now because it gives audiences a first chance to see a quietly paced, actor-driven film from Olivier Award–winning director Polly Findlay, and tickets are being sold at a promotional price for a single night only.
Everyman screening: logistical details for March 17
The one-night preview opens its doors at 6pm on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, and tickets are priced at £5 per person. Each ticket includes a complimentary popcorn; booking fees apply. Attendees seeking further information or accessibility details are directed to the Everyman website. Administrative details supplied for the event list the organisation as Registered in England No. 894646 with a registered office at 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.
Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds at the film’s center
Stella (Lesley Manville) and Gerry (Ciarán Hinds) are the film’s protagonists: a longtime retired couple whose marriage has reached a crossroads while on holiday in Amsterdam. The story follows decades of shared life—moves to a new country, changing careers and raising a son who now has a family of his own—and tracks how long-held promises and deeply concealed wounds begin to surface. The production places the actors’ chemistry and subtle exchanges at the heart of the narrative; one informed appraisal calls Manville especially brilliant, saying every small expression and pause carries weight.
Polly Findlay’s transition from theatre to film
Polly Findlay, described as an Olivier Award–winning British theatre and film director, makes her first film with Midwinter Break. Her background includes productions with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and that theatre experience shapes the movie’s approach: the screenplay avoids voiceovers and often reads like a long conversation, relying on close-ups and performance to render interior life visible. The screenplay is based on the novel by Bernard MacLaverty, who co-wrote the film script with Nick Payne.
Themes of home, faith and the Troubles
The narrative friction rests on concrete tensions: Gerry’s drinking and Stella’s devout Catholicism—alongside Gerry’s lack of faith—create a spiritual and emotional divide. The couple also disagrees on the meaning of home: Gerry associates home with Edinburgh, where they spent most of their married life, while Stella links home to Belfast, the place of their birth from which they fled during the Troubles. Stella’s Amsterdam pilgrimage includes a visit to the Begijnhof, a site tied to lay Catholic women, and she hopes to honor a decades-old promise to God—an act that could mean leaving her life and marriage behind.
Pacing, runtime and audience advisories
Midwinter Break runs roughly 90 minutes and is deliberately slow in tempo, with long scenes that linger on characters sitting, walking and staring out windows. The measured pace has been called almost glacial; this pacing contributes to the film’s contemplative mood but may test viewers who expect a quicker narrative beat. Practical notes for audiences: there are no extra scenes during or after the end credits. The RunPee app material included with early assessments frames the app as 100% free (donation supported) for iPhone and Android and suggests that the film’s steady pace makes it possible to step out without missing plot developments.
What makes this notable is the way Findlay’s theatrical discipline and the screenplay’s literary origins push the burden of storytelling onto the actors and the silences between them: the movie’s understated style amplifies small gestures into decisive moments. For those who value close, adult dramas and two actors working in tandem—lesley manville and Ciarán Hinds—the screening will offer an early chance to judge whether emotional subtlety and formal restraint cohere into a satisfying whole.
