Midwinter Break
Focus Features | Release Date: February 20, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
60
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
8
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The GuardianPeter BradshawMar 19, 2026
The film creates space for Hinds and Manville to give substantial, intimate, complex performances of the kind that most movies (of whatever sort) do not allow their leads, and Manville in particular is very moving. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubTara Bennett Feb 19, 2026
Midwinter Break is most interested in the realities of long-term relationships—with unfaced trauma and graceful forgiveness alike—more than concrete absolutes, which is what makes it a valuable meditation on the imperfection of marriage. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonFeb 18, 2026
Polly Findlay’s adaptation of Bernard MacLaverty’s 2017 novel is a serious attempt to delve into a complex marriage, and fortunately for such heavy material it contains two winning performances from Manville (so delightful in “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”) and Hinds (“Is This Thing On?”). Read full review
75
The Associated PressLindsey BahrFeb 18, 2026
An adaptation of a Bernard MacLaverty novel of the same name, “Midwinter Break” is a delicate film that stays in a minor key, but whose impact is profound if you can get on its level. Read full review
70
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeMar 19, 2026
A humane work devised by serious minds. Read full review
70
VarietyOwen GleibermanMar 6, 2026
Midwinter Break does nothing earth-shattering (it remains wee), but the movie touchingly colors in how it might be possible for two people to know each other too well and also not well enough. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleFeb 23, 2026
Without gimmicks or pomp (save a picturesque setting) and through the supreme talents of Lesley Manville and Ciarán Hinds, it offers up an affecting two-hander about a couple on the brink who’ve never really acknowledged said precipice. As directed with low-key confidence by Polly Findlay, the movie is both good and, in a certain way, good enough. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Aparita BhandariFeb 19, 2026
Fortunately, Midwinter Break stars two seasoned actors who are not even close to the winter of their careers. Both bring grace and gravitas to their characters, conveying their personal crises with humanity. Read full review
More From This Movie

60 Critic Reviews

tbd User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL