Twice Upon a Time in Anatolia

WINTER SLEEP (B+) - Nobody chronicles the slow demise of relationships like Nuri Bilge Ceylan. And like his masterpiece, "Climates," this one is a slow slog toward a frigid winter prison for a husband and wife.

This talky drama clocks in at three and a quarter hours, which is parceled out in well-defined acts that make the challenge of watching it manageable. This may be an indulgence, but Ceylan knows how to pace a movie.

Haluk Bilginer stars as Aydin, a wealthy hotelier and landlord to other properties in a quaint historic town in the Anatolian steppes of Turkey.  Aydin, who is around 60, is a gruff, arrogant former actor now a local columnist and would-be theater historian. His wife, Nihal (Melisa Sozen), is half his age and fed up with his boorish behavior, including his harping and second-guessing over her role in charity work for local schools. Aydin's sarcastic sister, Necla (Demet Akbag), also lives at the hotel and hangs out with Aydin in his work studio, where she often second-guesses her divorce.

Ceylan begins his story with a protracted introduction: a sullen boy tosses a rock at the pickup truck carrying Aydin and his employee Hidayet, breaking the passenger-side window. The kid is upset because Aydin had sicced collection-agency goons on the kid and his parents, Aydin's tenants. Hidayet and Aydin grab the boy and bring him home, confronting the father, troubled Ismail (Nejat Isler). The father's brother, Hamdi (Serhat Mustafa Kilic), arrives to defuse the situation. Hamdi, a man of the cloth, will become a central figure in the narrative, a cheerful man hoping to keep a roof over the family's head.

Ceylan spends the second hour on three intense 20-minute conversations, the first between Aydin and his sister, and the second and third between Aydin and Nihal, who is reprimanded for having the temerity to invite members of her charity committee to Aydin's hotel for a meeting. The conversations peel back layers, revealing the various strengths and weaknesses of each character and the power dynamics to each relationship.

Aydin is an emotional bully, using his wealth to try to infantalize his wife and sister. He reminded me of Ian McShane's character on HBO's "Deadwood," both with a physical resemblance and a similar swagger. Nihal, the wife, has the faraway doe-eyed stare of Jane Adams ("Hung") and a slump-shouldered exhaustion. As the snow finally starts to fall and alcohol begins to flow, Aydin's bravado is rattled, as an emotional chill sets in.