Winter Kills Plot Summary and Details

Plot

Based on a novel by the iconoclastic Richard Condon (of Manchurian Candidate and Prizzi's Honor fame), Winter Kills was one of the vanguard efforts in the "JFK conspiracy" school of literature. Jeff Bridges stars as Nick Kegan, the scion of a powerful Kennedyesque family, who has done his best to make himself obscure after the assassination of his older brother, the former president of the U.S. While working as an oil rigger, Nick is introduced to a terminally ill gentleman who claims to have been "the second assassin." His curiosity aroused, Nick begins digging into what was supposed to be a closed case -- and, predictably, what he finds out isn't pretty. This, however, is the only predictable element of this mesmerizingly mazelike yarn. A failure when first released, Winter Kills fared somewhat better when director William Richert arranged to rerelease the film through his own company and restore several scenes that had been cut by its previous backers. Elizabeth Taylor appears uncredited as one "Lola Comante."

MPAA Rating:

Genre(s):

Crime and Mystery

Run Time:

97min.

Theatrical Release Date:

11/09/2003

DVD Release Date:

03/18/2003

Distributor(s):

Independent Artists

Director(s):

William Richert

Starring:

Jeff Bridges , John Huston , Anthony Perkins , Sterling Hayden , Eli Wallach

Themes:

Assassination Plots,Conspiracies,Fathers and Sons

Tone:

Disturbing,Downbeat,Ominous,Paranoid,Satirical,Tense

Keywords:

President,assassination,conspiracy,corruption,double-cross,dysfunctional,gambling,investigation,investigator,oil-tycoon,political-intrigue,politician,revenge,weapons

Language:

English