It stars Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Eva Marie Saint (in her final film role before retirement), Russell Crowe and Will Smith.

The parents break the display case containing a model of the ship and place their baby inside it on the water, then watch him float to the New York City shoreline.

In 1916, the baby boy has grown up to become Peter Lake, a thief raised by a supernatural demon posing as the gangster Pearly Soames.

The mansion is the home where Beverly Penn lives, a young woman dying of consumption, whose fever is so high she sleeps outside in a tent in the winter cold.

While her publisher father Isaac and younger sister Willa are not home, Beverly discovers Peter preparing to rob the house.

Peter miraculously survives but wanders around the city with amnesia for a century, drawing chalk art of a red-headed girl on the pavements.

In 2014, the 119 year-old, but physically undiminished Peter, bumps into a young girl named Abby and meets her mother, Virginia Gamely.

He visits the Isaac Penn Reading Room where Virginia works, and she helps him restore his memory using historical photographs archived at the library.

After visiting Beverly's grave one last time, Peter mounts the horse to be carried away to the stars, while the elderly Willa witnesses his ascension.

[8][9] It was reported that the film's budget was dropped to $60 million in February 2012; at the same time Will Smith and Russell Crowe were linked to the project in supporting roles.

[13] In September 2012 multiple new cast members were announced, including Matt Bomer, Lucy Griffiths and Eva Marie Saint.

[19] The cinematographer was Caleb Deschanel,[20] who photographed the film with Arri Alexa digital cameras and Panavision C-, E- and G-Series anamorphic lenses.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Winter's Tale tries to retain the grandiose sweep of its source novel, but fails to fill it in with characters worth rooting for or a sensible plot.

[24] In a negative review for RogertEbert.com, Sheila O'Malley awarded the film one-and-a-half stars, stating: "It lacks visual splendor...

"[25] O'Malley criticized Russell Crowe for "hoping that a facial tic will somehow translate as menacing", finding his first scene with Will Smith to be "incomprehensible".

"[26] Bradshaw concluded his review by suggesting that the film could be made worse only by "releasing a giant, vicious, genetically engineered man-eating badger into the cinema while it's playing.

[29] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the movie a positive review: "Because it is fearlessly sincere and not totally successful, "Winter's Tale" is easy to mock.

"[30] In another positive review, Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader said: "This live-action fairy tale aims to recapture the romantic splendor of MGM's golden era; the dialogue and metaphysical conceits are often risible, but even they convey an emotionalism rare in 21st-century Hollywood.