The Film Christmas, Again Film Review – This Laidback Tale of a Lonely Christmas Tree Seller Boasts Genuine Charm
This constitutes a New York drama so laidback that it has taken a decade to reach the UK’s cinema screens. Initially unveiled in the US in 2015, it’s an ultra-low-budget debut from debut filmmaker Charles Poekel, set almost entirely on a 24-hour pop-up Christmas tree stall. Poekel’s style remains decidedly genuinely independent and naturalistic to get slushy or sentimental about Christmas; through his lens Christmas tree lights blink like police lights. But in its own low-key way, he pitches his film perfectly for a little squeeze of festive warmth.
A Jaded Seller Amid the Brooklyn Cold
Kentucker Audley stars as Noel (someone had in the film to joke about his name for the connection to be made). Noel is back for his fifth year peddling Christmas trees in Brooklyn, working outdoors in the freezing cold and sleeping in a not-much-warmer caravan stationed beside the trees. A few customers inquire after the girl working with him last year. But this year Noel works solo, heartbroken and on the night shift.
There’s a documentary feel to many of the scenes, with customers asking pointless random questions. A customer requests the same Christmas tree as the Obamas (the story is set in 2014). Noel looks frozen to the bone physically and emotionally; he’s exhausted and disenchanted, though Audley’s understated acting clearly indicates that he hadn't always been like this.
Quiet Encounters and Flickers of Connection
Frankly, not much happens. Noel comes to the aid of a woman, Lydia (Hannah Gross), who has passed out drunk on a bench. She reappears later in some genuinely moving scenes as Noel drives around New York, making tree deliveries – and these sequences could spark a small glimmer of good cheer in the grinchiest of hearts. Poekel has not directed a feature since this, which is regrettable – it is unmatched for naturalness and ease, and it’s shot on gorgeously textured 16mm film.
The film of understated appeal and real atmosphere, capturing the loneliness and brief connection of the holidays.
Christmas, Again opens in UK cinemas from 12 December.
